Sentinel
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: War leads to death. Death leads to destruction. Destruction leads to nothingness. Nothingness leads to emptiness. A disillusioned force finds refuge in the most unlikely of places and thus, the ultimate entity is born. A guardian of days long past. A Sentinel, to watch over civilization. NarutoxTalixEDI! Harem Character death, Romance, angst.
1. Subject Alpha

**A/N: HUZZAH! We're getting a DLC for ME 3! Its supposedly due out in April or May, but who cares! The point is that we're actually getting one! I know next to nothing about it, save that it is called "The Truth" and promises to be insanely epic. Maybe it'll have something to do with the screwball ending. *Shrugs* Me, I'm deliberately stalling and trying NOT to finish my copy of the game, as I don't want to see the ending TT_TT**

**Also, if you have played ME3 feel free to continue. If you haven't, well, needlessly to say, you're going to be hopelessly baffled.**

_"You're making me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry..._

_~Subject Alpha. _

**Subject Alpha **

Sur'Kesh was the salarian homeworld.

She, alongside Urdnot Wrex, had come to secure the release of the krogan females. They'd followed the instructions to an STG base, and after a bit of a hassle with landing, a tentatve truce had been formed. Now, having calmed her Krogan companion, commander Shepard, Liara T'soni, and Garrus Vakerian, made their way toward the elevator that would lead them to the surviving females, passing several cells containing all sorts of research subjects.

There were several subject contained within the fields.

One of them was human.

Shepard inquired after him, wondering what one of her own kind was doing here, confined in a containment field. He stood there in the containment field, arms folded, chin resting against his chest, legs shackled. Why his legs? If he was a biotic, she could understand his arms being bound, _but his legs?_ It didn't make any sort of sense. What's more, he looked to be in some sort of cryogenic stasis. She gazed at him, peered at him; taking in the closed eyes, chiseled features, and whiskered cheeks.

Who was this man?

Blackened orange rags clung to his emaciated frame, and yet he exuded power. It drew her in. Like an eerie spectre it loomed over her, promising death and destruction. The feeling grew stronger the closer she came.

_Shepard._

The commander winced as a supernova of pain exploded inside her skull.

_I sense the taint of my kind within you._

Just now, that voice...

"Who is this?' Shepard asked the salarian scientist manning the console.

"This is Subject Alpha." The scientist explained. "We discovered him on a small planetoid on the verge of your solar system several thousand years ago. We believe him to be associatedwith some form of alien technology." The salarian consulted his omni-tool a moment longer before nodding. "Our top scientists have stuided him for years, and that is the reason he's been kept in stasis since his arrival. The alien adopted a grim look when interrogated further on the matter and would not say more.

"You mean he's from earth?" Shepard asked, choosing a new line of conversation.

"Quite possibly, yes."

"Wait a second...are you telling me he's still _alive?_ That he's a thousand years old?"

"Hardly." The salarian scoffed. "As I said, Subject Alpha has been in stasis since his arrival here." He cast an appraising look at the group. "And I would ask the three of you to refrain from mentioning his existence to anyone outside this facility.

"But he's human!" Liara, god bless her heart, protested. "You can't possibly think its ethical to perform experimentation on him!"

Shepard squared her jaw.

"You're a monster, performing experiments on a living human."

"Commander, I wouldn't call _that_ human anymore that I would call you an impertinent cave monkey." The scientest keyed a few commands into the console and the container slid down and out of sight. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have more important matters to attend to." That had been the end of it. Or so Shepard thought. It was easy to assume that they'd never see him again,

They weren't expecting what came next.

None of them were.

Then again, how could one possibly predict that Mordin Solus had been Wrex's inside source? Barring that, how could they have predicted a Cerberus attack? Mordin was quick to take flight with the female in the pod, leaving it to Shepard to protect the two of them as it ascended through the upper levels. And so they went, fighting their way through wave after wave of Cerberus troops while Wrex took the shuttle and did his best to divert the gunships from firing on the unsuspecting trio.

That should have been the end of it. Only, it wasn't.

_Midway through the assault, the stranger reappeared._

"Warning!" A klaxon blared as they passed through a doorway. "Subject Alpha has escaped its container! Warning! Subject Alpha has-

The alarm ended in a strangled scream.

The redhead exchanged a terse glance with her squadmate and lover, Liara T'soni.

"That can't be-

Shepard never did get to hear the rest of that sentence.

Because the wall before them abruptly detonated; the pipes spewing fire and flame as a yahg tore through the wall and burst through to freedom. Seconds later a massive red laser lanced across the courtyard and obliterated an incoming squad of Cerberus troops. Then the prisoner, known solely as Subject Alpha, burst through the wall before them, spearing the Yahg and driving it to the ground.

The creature yowled and staggered to its feet, backing away from its attacker. The man lowered his palm, the epidermis still smoldering from the high powered laser he'd just emitted. Strangely enough, Shepard didn't see any sort of weapon on him. And as it turned out, he didn't need one.

The man moved effortlessly and suddenly, bringing his elbow around hard. His first swat knocked the Yahg off its feet. The second tore a gaping furrow in the creature's chest and blew the yahg across the hall, sending it sprawling the length of the floor. The man followed it, weaponless, but with his fingers curled in vicious claws. He raised his hand again, this time for a blow that would rip the behemoth's head off.

_And then he saw them._

Shepard froze.

_Shepard._

It was like he was staring through them. Through her. The silence was deafening. It was eerie.

**_Shepard._**

He brought his hand down in a violent side-to-side motion, tearing the yahg's head from its shoulders, spattering himself in black blood. He stood woodenly not taking enough care as he straightened. Too late, Shepard realized that the shackles no longer bound his legs. Too late, she realized why they'd been bound to begin with. He moved with the speed and grace of a dancer. Even as Liara fired the first shot, he was already in motion.

His heel shot out, jarring the side of the asari's jaw with such force that she crumpled to the floor. A heartbeat later and he was gone, vanishing as Garrus brought his rifle to bear upon this new, unprecedented threat.

"Son of a-

Before the turian could bring down his arm, though, the man's hand snaked out and plucked the skin on the back of his neck. With a sharp yank, he hauled him back so hard that Shepard wondered if Garrus's head might separate from his shoulders. Snarling, the turian spun and launched himself at the man instead, rifle at the ready. The stranger brought his free arm around and smacked the turian across his face with enough force to knock him from his feet and into unconciousness.

Scarce had Garrus hit the ground then the blond avatar of destruction turned on Shepard.

_At last, Shepard. _His words were like thunder in her head; scraping at her mind with deafening their volume, tearing at her soul with flashes of bright intensity. _At long last, I behold the killer of my kin. _Too late, she felt his icy fingers clamp down across her throat. Too late, she felt herself hurtling backward as he advanced, dragging her across the wall and through the aftermath of his escape.

_Too late._

He barreled into her with all the force of a krogan. Her forehead kissed his with a vicscious headbutt that left black spots speckling before her vision. Her back greeted the wall with earnest enthusiasm as she plowed over it and _through it,_ toppled into a table and finally struck a steel bulkhead. She propped herself onto her hands and knees, her eyes watering as she struggled upright. He was on her in an instant, forcing her upright and back against the wall, slapping the pistol from her fist.

And with that, time ground to a halt.

"Greetings." He spoke, breath warm on her face, his elbow pressed against her throat. "_Shepard."_ His gaze traced the network of scars criss-crossing her face, taking in every inch of her. Sheaprd couldn't believe her eyes. Nor her ears. It ocurred to her, that she could use this opportunitty to strike, to lash out with a biotic charge, but her mind was inexplicably filled with fear as she looked at the him; pinning her against the wall as though she were naught but a helpless babe. Helpless, to do anything other than struggle with futility against her captor. She'd all but forgotten what it was like to face a foe up close and personal. To anyone else it would have been absolutely terrifying. But not _her_ not commander Shepard, not the woman who'd survived the suicide mission against the Collectors with her team intact.

Commander Shepard swallowed her fear whole, ignored the constriction of her throat, and spoke with authority.

"I take it we've met before."

The man blinked at her, his expression blank.

"We have not met, Shepard-Commander."

"Well, clearly _you_ know me." The adept shot back, remembering that scraping sensation in her mind. "How is that? You said I was the killer of your kin?" She expected some flicker of emotion, of recognition, of anger. Anything. All she earned was a slow blink.

_"You are, kinslayer."_ He answered bluntly. "You have already killed two of my kind, and, given the chance, you will likely kill many more."

Well, that one hadn't gotten her anywhere. She struggled against him, but his grip was iron-tight, and she was powerless to resist him. Silently, she prayed Liara and Garrus were alright and stifled the burst of rage that came with it. If he'd killed them, if he'd killed Liara...

"What do you want?"

_"Want?"_ The blond entity replied, leaning toward her. "I want nothing. I am nothing. Given the channce, I will become nothing. You cannot comprehend the magnitude of my prescence, nor my existence. I am above and beyond you. I have but one purpose and that purpose involves you. You _will_ hear me, human. You will listen, to what I have to say and when I am done, I will have an answer from you."

"I take it you aren't going to release me until then?"

The being narrowed its eyes at her.

"If I were to release you, would you be inclined to listen?"

"Probably not, no."

"Then until you have heard me, I shall not release you.

"You are Commander Shepard." The man continued, the words echoing, sounding strange on his lips. _Hollow._ The man gazed at her, then glanced to her prone squadmates in turn. "Asari. Turian." A series of rapid blinks, punctuated by a tilting of the head. "I do not know these species," He turned his gaze back to her. "But I _know_ you, commander Shepard." A pause, his eyes sliding shut. "Harbinger speaks of you, even now." When they reopened they were a cool, winter blue. "He has told me much, while I slumbered."

His words were like ice water in Shepard's veins. They chilled her to the very core. They plucked at her. Tore at her heartstrings. Filled her with despair. _Harbinger._ Either this man was indoctrinated or...or_...or what?_ She didn't want to believe it. Couldn't believe it. How could she possibly conceive that this man standing before her, this creature with powers unknown could actually be a...a...a...

Shepard couldn't believe her eyes or ears.

_"He's a reaper."_

Impossible.

Reapers were gigantic, malevolent machines of destruction. And that was just it. They were machines. Sovereign itself had been more than two kilometers wide. How could it be possible; how could she she possibly accept that the human standing before her with eyes as deep and dark as the ocean blue, was a reaper? If not for the wires, he could be as human as any other man.

"Who or what are you?"

He glared bright, bloody red daggers at her.

"I...This fleshy form had a name, once." It paused, as if in recollection. _"Naruto."_ Another blink and a shake of the head. "That is irrelevant now." He pinnioned her with a gaze and held her fast, his tone tumbling to a whisper. "The only matter of relevance is the one I am about to share with you, human. Listen cosely."

There was a silence. Then:

"I am the sentinel of my race." He began slowly, struggling with their language, gaining in confidence with each syllable spoken. "I was sent to watch, to ensure that you and your kind developed along the paths we desired." He gazed down at himself, flexing the fingers of his free hand. "In order to ensure this I shed my true form and took on the guise of this willing flesh in order to guide you, to ensure, to make it a certainty." A blank look crossed his face, punctuated by_...sadness._ "But my mission failed. I have come to find you and your race...intriguing. That intrigue led to my capture. And now," He gestured to the skies overhead, "I wake to find myself in a war which my bretheren have perpetuated for the sake of preserving order. Do you understand this, Commander?"

"So, let me get this straight...you're a reaper."

His scathing glare as the first expression of emotion she'd seen and quite frankly, it scared the hell out of her.

**_"Do you understand, commander?"_**

Shepard managed a nod. It was a bit much to wrap her mind around in the chaos, but she understood the gist of it. She was used to killing reapers. Not talking to them. That one could meld itself with human flesh and take control of a willing host was..._disconcerting,_to say the least. She could see the intelligence burning behind those bright, baby blue eyes; the spark of an entity greater than the galaxy itself.

One thing struck her as odd, though.

"Why did you fail?" She asked.

"I did not anticipate the risks this fleshy form would take." The form that was Naruto answered, slowly. "His views became my views, his goals, my goals. I am a shell of my former self. I am nothing, but recently part of me wants to be something. I can no longer influence others with my mind as I once could, though I _can_ sway them to my will. Telepathy alone is a strain as you know, but I am able to commune with you." The abomination that was both human and reaper paused, and for a moment, she thought he had finally finished speaking.

"Human." It said suddenly, its voice little more than a metallic sigh. "You have killed two of my kind. The entity that you called 'Sovereign' and the reaper that was to be. That you have done so is unforgivable and warrants death. However," And here he stepped backward, releasing her, "Exenuating circumstances in my protcol suggest that I should spare you my wrath for the moment." He allowed her to sink to the floor and regain her bearings, and for this, the commander was grateful.

Shepard rubbed at her throat and gasped in a breath. Beside her, she could see Liara and Garrus beginning to stir as time marched ever onward. Whatever Naruto had used it was fading, and fast. She remembered why she was here, what she had to do. She had to find Mordin. Had to protect the pod. She'd wasted too much time already. But when the reaper extended a hand to her, she inexplicably stiffened.

"I understand that the shaking of hands is used to signify trust." Naruto stated, holding his hand out. "Yours would be appreciated."

"Just to be clear...why are you letting me go?"

"We, as a whole, believe that we must cleanse the galaxy of life in order to _preserve_ order. My recent...viewpont conflicts with theirs. I no longer believe all life need be wiped from the face of the galaxy. Sentient life must be monitored, of course, but I deem eradication unecessary."

"Really?"

Naruto blinked.

"Lying to you would decrease productivity." He had a point there. The Reapers were already invading. They were wiping everyone and everything out, system by system. The Allience needed all the allies they could get. Even if one of them, was a disillusioned former reaper. They needed him. Even if she doubted his motivations, it couldn't possibly hurt to have another advanced AI hybrid on board.

"You want to join us?"

The Reaper that was once Naruto blinked, slowly.

"Yes."

_"Why?"_

"I wish to reeducate my kind, to change their opinion, to prove that they are wrong." The entity clarified flatly. "Joining your forces will help to facilitate that change." Briefly, Shepard was struck by him. He reminded her of Legion. Just a little bit. Minus the flashlight head and consistently referring to itself in the plural. Oh and the fact that he was one of the deadliest synthetic-human hybrids in the galaxy. Seriously though...

_What the fuck!_

A reaper wanted to join their team. A human reaper! Briefly, she thought back on the monstrosity that she'd destroyed inside the Collector Base. Was this, what that creature would have become? When she looked at him now, she could see the wires, threaded beneath his skin, visible in some places. And yet he was a living, breathing human, with the ability to breathe, bleed, and most likely all other human functions.

"I'll have to call you something...

"Naruto." The reaper answered immediately. "I would prefer that name to the title of sentinel."

"How did you...?"

For the first time since they'd met, the reaper offered a grim parody of a smile.

"Right." Shepard berated herself. "Telepathy."

Naruto nodded.

"Well then, I suppose I should call you Naruto."

"I accept this title." The reaper nodded his thanks.

"Commander."

Shepard turned.

"In exchange for this alliance, I will remove all traces of the reaper indoctrination from you." Naruto held out both hands, palms up, in offering. Warily, and not knowing why, Shepard accepted and placed her hands in them. Almost immediately, a jolt ran the length of her arms and reverberated into her toes. Her vision began to swim. To blur as she looked on, swimming with strange colors and hues.

"Indoctrination?" She barely managed to force the word out. "I'm not-

"You have multiple signs of malware in your system." The reaper replied calmly. "Mental degradation is evident. It is more than likely, that the Prothean Beacon and Cipher have delayed the effect. Given enough time however, you would succumb to dementia and hallucinations. Only one such as myself can safely remove influence and restore your brain to full capacity. The process will be brief, and during that time, I will provide assistance to your salarian companion." By this time Liara and Garrus had begun to stir, Naruto gave them no notice and gripped her hands tightly, evoking another spark of brilliant colors across the length of her vision.

"I get the feeling that this is going to be painful." Shepard winced as another jolt coursed down her spine.

For the first time, the reaper sounded contrite.

"It will be."

A terrible sound filled her head, and then there was blackness.

**A/N: DUN-DUN-DUN! Naruto is...a reaper? It's heavily implied that he became one through some means or another, seeing as the time of the ninja and the shinobi preceded, that is, came LONG before the Mass Relays and such. Also, it is implied that Shepard is in a relationship with Liara, which I totally ship XD. But is Naruto...really Naruto? Or is he merely a shell, possessed by reaper technology? Yeah, I'm one of the indoctrination theorists on the game *shrug* hence the reason I took the chance to remove it as soon as I could...**

**Stay tuned to find out!**

**R&R! =D**


	2. Synthesis

**A/N: HUZZAH! Bioware has bowed to the pressure! They are going to change the ending after all! I only just found about it as of today! What changes they are going to make remain dubious, but we should have details by next month, or so the articles claims (Its on Yahoo btw) Words cannot express how truly pleased I am to learn of this. Now I can FINALLY complete Mass Effect 3 and get some damned closure! HAHA!**

**Also, if you have played ME3 feel free to continue. If you haven't, well, needlessly to say, you're going to be hopelessly baffled.**

_"Boldly they rode and well, into the jaws of Death, into the mouth of Hell."_

_~Sentinel. _

**Synthesis**

Shepard was floating in the never never land somewhere between sleep and full consciousness when the dream began. It was a familiar dream, a terrifying dream, one that had nothing to do with the war and yet everything. She was in the forest again. She heard laughter all around. A child's laughter. As she waded into the depths, that laughter dissolved into a startled scream of horror and dismay.

She blinked, and the world dissolved around her. It was with an eerie chill that she realized where she was. She was back in that dream again. The same one she'd had since they'd fled Earth for the stars. The same dream that haunted her ever since her first failure in Vancouver.

In this dream, she chased after the child she'd failed to save. He ran through the dark forests of ghosts and whispers, desperate to escape his unseen pursuers. Shepard gave chace of course; but her movements were slow, addled, as though she were moving through jelly. She tried to follow him through the twisting branches and haunted cries the lost decried at her, blaming her for their loss, for their death. She could hear Kaiden's voice amongst them, mocking her for her failures.

And still she ploughed onward, desperate to distance herself from them, from them and their mocking jibes. Eventually she caught up with the boy. She reached for him, sure, certain, that she would save him this time. Closer she came. Closer still. Closer, her fingertips brushing his cheek-

And the boy burst into flames.

Shepard struggled to cry out, but the words refused to come. She watched the boy burn; watched, as he turned to ash, watched, as her fingers passed harmlessly through the flames. Heart rending, Shepard watched and waited for the end to come, for her consciousness to return. She wanted it all to be over so that she might finally be wake and be free of this vile night-terror.

But this time, the dream didn't end. The flames began to spread. They stretched across the forest in their tendrils of warmth, wreathing her dream in an orange sheet of death and destruction. The black spectres cried out and burst apart, wailing in agony as the tongues of fire sought each of them out and tore asunder. Someone stepped through the fire, the flames rippling harmlessly from their flesh. It was a dark, nebulous shape looming ever closer through the gloom. It was a Reaper.

_It was Naruto._

He looked stronger somehow; his body garbed in a great glinting carapace of silver and gold that shone whenever the light struck it. His greasy blond hair was no longer so, a great spiky mane that hung over his head like something alive. He looked healthy. Strong. Whatever he wore, it rendered him immune to the flames...or perhaps it was those eerie red eyes staring across at her from the abyss. Didn't he have blue eyes? If so, then why were they red?

"Shepard." He smiled thinly, just as he had during their first meeting. Hopefully this one would end without violence. "Your indoctrination runs deep. I am amazed that you've been able to resist it thus far.

"You?" To Shepard's surprise, her voice had returned. She touched a hand to her throat in disbelief.

"It is I, yes." Naruto replied. "Were you expecting someone else, Commander?"

"I-no." Shepard shook her head. "I just," Her inner-commander kicking in, she gestured to the blond.

"Why do you look like-

"You see this human shell in its prime." The reaper answered, seeming almost put-out. "This is how I appeared before I left Earth for the stars and-

"Just a second." Shepard held up her hands. "You lost me at Earth.

"We were bonded together long ago, the Reaper and I." Naruto answered. "Though not necessarily by choice. I walked the earth long before you and your kind re-discovered the mass relays." Sadness flickered across his features. "I am the survivor of a bygone era, commander. One that I do not care to revist. My past is my own, as is the tragedy you sustained on Akuze. Please, let us not speak no more of this. Let it rest."

"But I-

_"I said we shall not speak of it!"_

Shepard cringed and in that instant, the reaper that was Naruto seemed to deflate.

"My...apologies." He shook his head, and extended his hand to her. "It has been too long since I exchanged in pleasantries with sentient lifeforms. Another time perhaps? With a nod to himself, he held out his arm. "Take my hand Shepard, and let us be done with this." Despite herself, Shepard doubted him.

"Are you certain I'm indoctrinated?"

"Yes."

"And if you're-

"Shepard." When he spoke again, it was a low peal of thunder; the calm before the storm. "Come with me." His eyes held Shepard, beckoning to her from across space and time. He crooked his finger forward, and suddenly the distance between them shrank to a pinpoint of brilliance.

Slowly, tentatively, she took his hand.

_"I release you."_

And as she did, the blackened, decayed forest burned all around them. It withered away into nothingness, cleansed by an awful red light. That light was coming from Naruto, spreading across her dreamscape, consuming anything and everything ...

...and then there was only the all consuming clarity of sanity.

* * *

><p>It came as less a surprise, more a relief, when she finally awoke.<p>

At first, anyway.

Her first clue that she had returned from the land of nightmares came when darkness truly fell. The visions evaporated, and the voices went with them. For a very welcome period, there was nothing to see or hear, or even think. She could just rest, and be.

Then new noises began to intrude upon her solace.

Then new noises began to intrude on the peaceful silence: the whirring of rustling cloth, low-pitched whispers and murmurrs from someone, a fizzing, spitting noise that could have been running water, and other sounds that held no place in her serenity. Her heart rose at the sound of a voice rising above the others. The faint sticking point between each breath was horribly familair.

Finally, she could stand it no more.

Commander Shepard opened her eyes.

A pair of small, cool hands placed themselves on her face, cradling her cheeks.

"Liara?"

"Shepard!" The asari cried, holding her tight. "Thank the Goddess you're alright!"

"Wha?" She would have said more had the asari not chosen that moment to kiss her. Gods, she never got tired of that. Her world was still too blurry to behold, but for a small moment, she was content. Then reality came crashing down around her ear. Wrex! Mordin! Cerberus! The sound of gunfire clattered from somewhere above them followed by a scream as a small explosion hurled an unfortunate trooper to his doom. The firefight was still raging onward as the salarians struggled to hold off the invaders.

Shepard struggled upright.

"You're alright," The asari whispered tearfully, scrubbing at her eyes with the back of a hand. "I can't believe you're actually alright."

"It is natural that she would be." A soft, accentuated voice rang out aways above her.

"Who-

"No way! There's no way I'm agreeing to this! Not even if Saren himself came back to life and put a gun to my head!" shouted a familiar voice. Garrus? Batting the black spots from her vision, Shepard propped herself up on her elbows, silently willing her aches and pains away.

"I am not offering you a choice." Someone snapped back at Garrus. "You're commander has already decided it. I am an ally."

"And I'm a spectre!" Garrus snarled.

"Really?"

"That was sarcasm!"

"My race never had need for such a thing."

"That's because your race decided to wipe out all sentinent life in the galaxy!"

Blinking through sleep gummed eyes, Shepard struggled to focus. Naruto swam into view above her, in the midst of a heated arguement with one Garrus Vakerian. The turian didn't looked pleased, she thought, blearily. Not at all. He was probably still sore at the man for knocking out. Oh wait, she reminded herself. Naruto wasn't a man. He claimed to be a Reaper in human form, to be the one who'd cleansed her of her indoctrination. How absurd was that?

"Now tell me!" Garrus demanded! "What have you done to Shepard!"

"She was well on her way to becoming indoctrinated." Naruto stated flatly. "Had I not intervened she would have likely lost her mind, turian."

"Oh, well that's just great!" The turian exclaimed, tossing a claw in her direction. "So I'm just supposed to accept that you knocked Shepard out for her "safety" is that it?"

"Your assumption would be correct." answered Naruto.

"I should shoot you right now!"

"You would not succeed."

Shepard's groan silenced whatever the male might have said.

"How long was I-

"You were unconscious for approximately three and a half minutes." Naruto was already moving on ahead of them, clearing the upper deck with a single bound. "During that time, all traces of indoctrination were purged from your system." He paused to look back at them. "Now, as promised, I will render my assistance against Cerberus." Without another word, he swung himself over the rail and out of sight. Seconds later, the screaming started.

Shepard gawped as a Cerberus Assault Trooper flew past her, hurtling to his death miles below them. Four Centurions followed shortly therafter pursued by a combat engineer and a hastily assembled turret. The distinctive pop of a flashbang grenade snapped in retort, and then the the plaza became a firing zone once again.

"Friend of yours?" Garrus quipped snidely.

Shaking her head, Shepard scaled the ladder in pursuit of him. The air was thick with the stench of gunfire, and as Sheaprd cleared the ladder, she soon saw why. Cerberus was being destroyed in short order. Decimated. For all there cohesion, for all their firepower, they simply weren't trained to deal with a reaper. Let alone one like Naruto, an unstoppable hybrid equal parts human and synthetic.

"Who the hell is this guy?" One of them cried as the shots scattered back at them.

"I am Sentinel." The man proclaimed, wading through a hail of bullets. "I am the watcher in the darkness." Their projectiles riocheted harmlessly from his flesh, falling to the wayside as he advanced upon the remaining troopers. "And you are in my way, foolish humans. _Begone!"_ He slammed a fist into the earth, evoking a massive explosion that consumed half of the squad and sent everyone sprawling.

Shepard included.

Shepard snatched up a weapon, a semi-automatic hand cannon, and opened fire. The recoil compensators in her arm dampened the effect but she could still feel the handgun kick against her palm. Three more troopers went down from head shots. Shepard smiled. _Damn_ it felt good to have a gun in her hand again. To be in control again. Whatever had addled her mind before was gone. She could think, clearly. She could focus. The world seemed a thousand times brighter and she felt better for it. Her senses once dulled now stood at their prime, leaving her eerily aware of everything around her. Without the indoctrination, she was, well, _aware._

Which was probably why she _heard_ the distinctive whistling sound that was an object dropping from orbit. A very large object. Something that didn't break up as it entered the humid atmosphere of Sur'Kesh. Something...big. Very big.

_"Incoming!"_

Three heads jerked toward the skyline as a massive machine dropped from the sky. _Dropped from orbit more likely,_ Shepard thought to herself as the hulking death machine that was the Atlas crashed into the square ahead of them and behind Naruto. The reaper rounded on the machine, just in time for one of its claws to close around its waist an instant later. Despite the danger, and despite the predicament the blond made a noise of protest as it hoisted him off his feet and slammed him headfirst into the ground. The impact was as abrupt as it was devastating; the blonde's blue-black blood spattering across the tiled floor and pooling around his broken floor.

There was a silence.

Then:

_"Fuck."_

Shepard felt a pang of sorrow for the reaper as she watched it expire, human fingers scrabling against the floor as the Atlas released it and lumbered onward. Had it been any other reaper, she would have applauded the soldier's action. Instead, she felt a white-hot surge of rage. She hadn't known Naruto all that long, but his death pained her none the less. Reaper or not, he'd seemed nice enough. How ridiculous she sounded! She felt sorry for a reaper! She should be glad it was dead! And yet...

_Damn this war to hell!_

"What the hell is that thing!" Garrus exclaimed as they took cover. Shepard thought Garrus was speaking of the massive mech. She was about to reply with a sarcastic retort, when an ear piercing howl erupted behind them.

**_"PITIFUL!"_**

Shepard rounded on the sound and froze.

Naruto was getting back up.

Slowly at first, then with a dogged persistence that would a krogan to shame, he stood. Ropy tendrils of muscle and bone slithered across his flesh, binding his body back into a whole being once more, melding against his bare flesh in a strange, form-fitting carapace. It was almost as if the blond had manifested his own blood and made it his armor and himself. But that was impossible...wasn't it? No human should be capable of_...oh, that's right_.

Naruto wasn't human.

"How is he still moving?" Liara asked to no one in particular as the blond lurched after the hulking machine. "Not even a krogan could withstand something like that!" Because Naruto was standing. His eyes gleamed a sinister and scintilating shade of scarlet; the crimson irises slitted and terrible to behold.

**_"I. Am. Sentinel!"_**

The garbled hiss left his lips, flung in the direction of the retreating atlas. His bright blue eyes gleamed violently as tit stamped on ahead of him, unaware of the wrathful entity lurking just beyond its vision.

"Be careful!" Shepard warned. Reaper tech or not, an atlas could easily tear the hybrid to pieces if he took it head on. Narut wasn't having any of it. Tearing the remains of a tattered sleeve from his right arm, he marched after the machine; taking long confident strides as he pursued it.

Naruto flicked his hand outward.

"Caution is inadvisable." He stated, the skin of his wrist flaking and coming apart at the very edges. "The enemy that stands before me is Cerberus. Signs of indoctrination are present within their feeble minds. They will not retreat. Nor will they surrender. Therefore, I shall eradicate them." Another wordless stream of code left his lips, impossible for anyone to decipher, and yet, Shepard understood every word and non-syllable:

_"Activating Cole Protocol. Disengaging safties. Safties disengaged. Appropriating enemy."_ A pause, then._ "Targeting._** Locked-on."**

And as he spoke, his arm transformed.

Flesh rippled and dissolved; epidermis boiling back to reveal wires of ropy metal lurking beneath the flesh. Where his arm had once been, there was now a strange apartus of some sort, strongly resembling that of a cannon. And as she looked on that cannon opened; revealing a shining stream of crimson. A deafening sound; like that a great gong, arose from the device, clamoring loudly as he brought it to bear upon the massive Atlas.

"Goddess!" Liara cried in surprise.

Shepard knew that sound all too well. It was the sound a Reaper made just before it attacked. In that moment, any doubts she held about Naruto not being a reaper vanished into the damp skies of Sur'Kesh. The blond took a knee and as he did so, long metal struts sprouted from the base of the barrels; providing a fulcrum by which to channel the intense energy of his weapon. A red targeting reticle snapped into place before his right eye, allowing him to peer into the visor and take aim.

"That's a big gun!" Garrus remarked as the ground shook beneath them.

_'No, shit!'_

The atlas lumbered forward, fixated on the krogan female, and nothing else. It would have been wise to turn around, to face the threat at its flank. It did not. That proved too be a mistake. By the time it noticed the quaking, it was already too late. Much too late.

"I suggest you seek cover!" The blond warned, as red light gathered at the back of the barrel. "The impact is likely to be detrimental to both allies and enemies alike!" Scarce had he said this than he opened fire. Shepard's eyes bulged as a massive laser erupted from the barrel that was his arm. It was the same laser she'd seen on earth. The very same laser that had taken out an Alliance dreadnought and destroyed an entire city block in a single sweep.

And it was coming for them.

_"Get down!"_

The atlas mech, still trying to turn, never stood a chance.

The high-powered ultraviolet laser sliched through the machine's armor plating like a hot knife through butter. The atlas teetered there for a moment, swaying on its hind legs struggling for a chance to regain its balance. Naruto did not give it that chance. Jettisoning the cannon, he surged forward, bringing his remaining arm to bear. He smashed in and _out_ of the canopy's cockpit in an instant, bodily dragging the pilot's _head _with him in an explosion of guts and bloody viscera.

The mech detonated harmlessly behind him, showering Shepard and her squad with flaming debris.

"Enemy forces eliminated." Naruto announced, touching a hand to the stump that was now his shoulder. "Assesing and repairing damage." To Shepard's amazement, flesh and wire sprouted from nothingness, spreading across the ruined limb. Melding as one, they fused together in perfect synthesis, forming a perfectly human arm once more. Naruto flexed the fingers of his new limb, gave a nod, and turned his atttention toward the flickering containment field.

"Krogan." He murmured, taking note of the female within the containment field, then Mordin beside her. "Salarian." A small smile touched his lips. "It seems that I find myself surrounded by a strange coalition of the races this day." He stole a glance toward the landing pad, where the shuttle finally set down. A great big brute of a krogan, with large shoulders and equally large armor stormed out the hatch and into view. If the scarlet headcrest and bulging red eyes weren't indicator enough of his status, then that gravelly voice and swagger were.

"Shepard!" Urdnot Wrex exclaimed as he stepped off the shuttle. "What the hell was that?" Shepard knew at once what her old friend meant; he wanted to know about the all consuming laser that had taken out half of the plaza. She stole a subtle glance toward Naruto. The kid really was a Reaper then. A perfect synthesis of humanity and synethics at their finest. Best not to tell Wrex that.

"Another krogan." Naruto remarked quietly. "And here I thought your kind never left Tuchanka."

"Who's the kid?" Urdnot Wrex inquired as he walked past.

"Reapers are not children." Naruto replied.

Shepard facepalmed.

_'Apparently, they're not very subtle, either.'_

Wrex huffed.

"This thing's a reaper?"

"Well...yeah."

"Calls himself Sentinel." Garrus chimed in, twitching his mandibles into a small smile. Naruto shot him a deadly glare. If looks could kill...

"That is not what I am called, turian." Shepard winced at the way Naruto spit Garrus's race, as if it were a dirty word. She bristled also at his claiming of her, something in her said he hadn't earned the right to call her his.

"You may call me Naruto."

"So let me get this straight," said Wrex. "We're supposed to call you Sentinel?"

Naruto arched an eybrow.

"Don't call him that." Shepard advised.

"My thanks, Commander Shepard. I would appreicate-

Naruto would have said more, had his body not given out in the instant. A geyser of black-blue blood fountained forth from his lips. Naruto blinked. Touched a hand to his face and mouth, blinked. Crumpled over.

"Naruto!"

"Shepard." The reaper replied, turning his head to face her.

"Are you alright?" She ran her omni-tool over him. "I have medi-gel...

"This form is fragile." The reaper gasped from where he lay. "Weak. I did not anticipate such strain." A grimace of self-castigation. "Removing the effect of your indoctrination proved to be...difficult. I was forced to...supplant it with a fragment of my own concsiousness." Shepard touched a hand to her head as he said this. Was that why everything seemed so much clearer now? So much sharper? Well, it explained the visions, at least. It also settled a frozen fist into her gut.

"Does this mean I'm still indoctrinated?"

"Hardly." He shuddered, as though speaking itself were an effort. "Think of it as a beacon, similair to that of the Protheans. I merely imparted you with some of my knowledge and the ability to understand our kind."

"You didn't have to do that." She touched a hand to his shoulder. "Really, you didn't."

"Ah. I forgot how emotional humans...we...are."

"We?"

Naruto laughed. It was a strange sound, coming from a reaper.

"I am not entirely synethic, commander."

Shepard laughed too.

She was talking to a Reaper. Sharing idle conversation with it.

"EDI's gonna love this...

"EDI?"

"Our AI."

"Ah." Naruto nodded weakly, or rather, he tried, but his head only moved an inch. "It will be...stimulating to share data with a true aritificial intelligence." Ah, hell. That'd be a sight to see. A reaper on deck, sharing information with an unshackled aritifical intelligence. Two deadly entities, one a true synthetic, the other a hybrid between the two. The imagery evoked a small smile from the Commander, nonetheless.

_'Joker might not like that..._

Then she saw the pool of bood.

"Naruto?"

"Forgive me, Commander." He coughed wetly, expunging a wad of bloody phlegm from his lungs. "I may have...expended more energy than was absolutely neccessary. You're doctors would call it a stroke. My kind...well, we haven't a word for such things. But you needn't concern yourself with me. I will be fine. I will-

A second later he slumped over, unconcsious.

* * *

><p><em>(Several hours later)<em>

_"Tough bastard."_

These were the first words Shepard heard as she stepped into the war room, with Naruto bringing up the rear. The proto-human reaper looked no worse for the wear, despite his brush with death on Sur'Kesh. He'd exchanged his filthy rags, for a simple pair of black slacks and a pale shirt that matched the color of his eyes. He'd politely declined the to wear armor, claiming that it interfered with his...abilities. What those abilities were, Shepard didn't know. It soon became apparent, however, that the rest of the crew were most curious whereas their new arrival was concerned.

"Didn't think you'd be up!"

Naruto's head snapped as James Vega clapped him on the back. Far from being startled, the Reaper looked at her with a puzzled expression. For someone who claimed to be a perfect unision between organics and synthetics, he certainly did have problems adapting to social norms.

"Commander, you have told your crew what I am...correct?" Naruto asked.

"A few." Shepard managed before a certain scientist salarian elbowed his way past her.

"Don't recognize you." Mordin spoke rapidly as he approached, touching two fingers to his forehead in what might have been a salute. "Impressive. Impossible. Mass less than two kilometers. Capable of regeneration." Briefly, he consulted his omni-tool. "Hmm. Structural status indicates human-synthetic composition _alien_ in origin. Can't be...have to ask_...Reaper?"_

"Your salarian speaks strangely." Naruto noted, glancing at the commander. "But he is correct in his assumption."

"So this thing's a reaper, huh?" Wrex laughed, clapping Naruto on the back and staggering him forward. "Well, he shot down an Atlas and protected the female. I'll buy him a barrel of ryncol anytime. Can a Reaper even drink ryncol?"

"Your thanks is uncecessary." replied Naruto. A pause, pursued by a shake of the head. "But appreciated. In answer to your question my kind _can_ become intoxicated. But not in the way you suspect. I myself would prefer to remain sober, however."

"Suit yourself!" The leader of clan Urdnot grinned a toothy grin. "More for me."

Primarch Adrien Victus was a great deal more wary of their new guest.

"So _this_ is a reaper?" he asked, peering at Naruto. "Commander, when you said you were bringing one aboard, I had my doubts but-

"I could abandon this aesthetically pleasing form, if you so wish." the blond offered, his arm assuming the customary shape of a cannon once more. The color drained right out of the primarch's face.

"No! Erm...ah, I mean, that isn't necessary."

"Very well." Naruto's arm phased back to normal.

"I understand my kind are ravaging Palaven, primarch." Naruto put in. "I...am sorry."

Adrien's mandibles fluttered in surprise.

"I...I see. Thank you for that."

"I am not entirely synethic, commander.

* * *

><p>Shepard was dreading the introduction she was about to make. But it must be done. Before he met Specialist Traynor, before he Joker, before he met EDI, she wanted to see what the most volatile member of her crew would say. So she brought Naruto down to engineering, lead him to the cargo hold where Grunt had once been, and intrdouced an amused reaper to a nonplussed Prothean.<p>

The results were...

_...unpleasant._

"He _is_ a reaper!" Javik exclaimed aghast, his four eyes narrowing with hate. "It was his kind that exteriminated my race and drove them from the Citadel!" Before anyone could hope to intervene the prothean surged forward and seized Naruto by the throat. Shepard flashed back to what had been done the Atlas and suddenly, she feared the worst for the last remaining prothean.

"Javik-

"How can you possibly allow this..._abomination_ on the ship, commander!" Javik demanded. "It will kill us all! It will indoctrinate us all! We must throw it out the airlock before it is too late!"

"Your concern is understandable, prothean." Naruto breathed, despite the tri-pronged fingers closing on his throat. "However, I do not intend hostility to you at this time." Yet another instance in which the reaper reminded her of a certain geth. "Nor is the Commander under my sway." A pause. "Additonally throwing me out the airlock would do you any good, as this unit does not require oxygen." His bright blue eyes fixated on Javik's deadly gold. "I cannot condone the actions of my race any more than I already have. If you seek an apology from me, however, you have only to-

"Silence!" Javik slammed the reaper against the bulkhead, pinning him against the steel. "You are synthetic! You are a machine! You know nothing of my people's pain!"

"This unit did not participate in the extinction of your cycle." Naruto continued flatly, his voice assuming the platonic monotone he so commonly used when threatened with an especially sharp object or in this case, bodily harm. "My only role was to observe the lesser races. Furthermore, I was not integrated within this human's body at the time and as such, posed no threat to you or your race. I would ask that you release me now before I act in self defense."

"The only release you shall experience is _death,_ creature!"

_"Enough!"_

Shepard pushed herself between the pissed off prothean and the rampant reaper. Both looked to her; one, the picture of calm, the other, an avatar of implacable fury. Though she wanted nothing more thant to smack their heads together, the commander controlled their urges and glared bloody daggers at either squad member. It had been many, a year since she'd found herself so roused to anger in the prescence of her crew, but she simply couldn't bear with their continued animosity any longer.

"Look at you! Both of you!" She barked at them, demanding their full and undivided attention." This is exactly what the reapers want! Javik, of course you're upset about your people. The Reapers destroyed them!"

"It's not that simple!" Javik growled.

Shepard wasn't listening. She'd already brought the full force of Hurricane Shepard to bear upon Naruto. The reaper blinked at her, his bloodred eyes fading back to their cool, true blue as she stared him down.

"And Naruto, what the hell were you thinking? Provoking him! Do you want to undermine this entire operation?"

"I did not intend to decrease operational efficiency." Naruto replied. "

"We're on a mission." Shpeard growled at them both. "You will either fight at my side or get crushed under my heel. But you will _not_ stand in my way."

"Very well, commander." Javik huffed. "I will deal with this..._thing_ once the reapers have been vanquished."

"And I will tolerate the alien with a stick up his ass until my objective has been achieved." Naruto answered, staring down the prothean.

There was a silence.

"That was a joke."

For all her fury Commander Shepard nearly burst out into laughter.

"You _have_ to meet EDI."

"I would very much like that, commander."

Now that she'd introduced him to the alien most likely to kill him, Shepard decided it was time to clear the air. His meeting with EDI would be just the thing. A heart to heart with a fellow synethic, now that would be just the thing. Still, a reaper! She had an actual reaper aboard her ship! Most of the crew seemed wary enough of him. That was to be exepcted, but was he influencing them. Was he just using her? She certainly hoped not. Either way...

This was going to be a _loooong_ mission.

**A/N: DUN-DUN-DUN! Naruto is...a reaper? It's heavily implied that he became one through some means or another, seeing as the time of the ninja and the shinobi preceded, that is, came LONG before the Mass Relays and such. Also, it is implied that Shepard is in a relationship with Liara, which I totally ship XD. But is Naruto...really Naruto? Or is he merely a shell, possessed by reaper technology? Yeah, I'm one of the indoctrination theorists on the game *shrug* hence the reason I took the chance to remove it as soon as I could...**

**WE GET TO SEE NARUTO MEET EDI AS OF NEXT CHAPPY!**

**Stay tuned to find out!**

**R&R! =D**


	3. Productivity

**A/N: HUZZAH! Bioware has bowed to the pressure! They are going to change the ending after all! I only just found about it as of today! What changes they are going to make remain dubious, but we should have details by next month, or so the articles claims (Its on Yahoo btw) Words cannot express how truly pleased I am to learn of this. Now I can FINALLY complete Mass Effect 3 and get some damned closure! HAHAHA!**

**Also, if you have played ME3 feel free to continue. If you haven't, well, needlessly to say, you're going to be hopelessly baffled.**

_"When you speak of life death I think of life. When you talk of destruction, I dream of peace..._

_~Sentinel. _

**Productivity**

"Commander, I understand you've brought a _Reaper_ on board the Normandy." These were the exact words of Admiral Hackett as he materialized in the vid-comm; thousands of leagues from the Normandy, but still able to convey his surprise_-and his displeasure-_via hologram. Isabelle Shepard, had opened a secure channel for this very purpose; to inform him of their newest ally, and potential ace in the hole. She hadn't expected the Admiral to already know. That being said, there wasn't much Shepard could do about it other than salute and come clean.

"Yes, sir."

"Still, an actual reaper?" Hacket touched a hand to his chin in thought. "How did you manage to pull that one off?"

She thought back to how well Naruto had acclimated to the crew. Wrex liked him. She was pretty sure Garrus didn't. Javik had tried to kill him. EDI, well, she probably wanted to meet him. Mordin had tried_-unsuccesssfully-_to dissect him. As far as James was concerned Naruto was just one of the guys. She had no way of knowing whether the marine was in denial; or whether he was trying to cope with the sudden prescence of a Reaper on deck, something she resolved to discuss with him at a later date.

And as for Liara...

"It wasn't easy." Shepard slammed the lid on that train of thought and returned her attention to the hologram standing before her. For a moment, Admiral Hacket was silently standing, arms folded behind his back. He opened his mouth to say something and decided against it, his mouth snapping shut with an audible click.

"I'd be surprised if it was." The admiral said at length. "Shepard, we've seen what the Reapers can do. Are you _sure_ you can trust this one?" Again Shepard paused to consider the weight of his words. Did she trust Naruto/Sentinel? She didn't have a definite answer to that. One one hand, he was a Reaper. He represented everything she despised, an eerie, godlike synthetic capable of swaying others with his very prescence.

On the other, he'd cleansed her of her indoctrination and imbued her with a basic knowledge of his people. Making Isabelle the first human to ever understand just what it was that made the Reapers tick. The knowledge was rudimentary of course-she didn't know everything-but she knew enough to know this: Naruto could be killed. For all his power and all his might, he; like the rest of his kin and Sovereign before him, could be destroyed. If Naruto tried anything, she was certain they could handle him.

"I'd bet my life on it."

"Then you're betting the fate of an entire galaxy." Hackett reminded her. "I wouldn't want to be you if this thing goes south." Another pause. "Is there any chance he knows of the Reaper battle plan as a whole?"

"He hasn't spoken of it yet, sir?"

"So you mean to tell me a Reaper can just "take" any body it so chooses?"

"No sir." Shepard shook his head. "Sentinel's intelligence suggests that the Reaper needs to be in close proximity with the target, said target needing to be under considerable indoctrination for such a transfer to ever take direct effect. The memories of Sovereign's forced takeover of Saren and the geth were still painfully present within her mind. To think, she'd actually ally herself with one!

"I hope you know what you're doing, Commander." Hacket warned. "If we lose the Normandy, we may very well lose this war."

"I'll keep you posted, sir." Shepard promised.

"See that you do." The Admiral saluted. "Again, I hope you know what you're doing, Shepard. Hackett out."

* * *

><p><em>'I hope <em>I_ know what I'm doing too..._

It was with great excitement and great trepidation that Commander Shepard entered the bridge. Excitment, because she was eager to find someone to whom Naruto could relate. Trepidation; because after Javik's explosive reaction the Reaper hybrid, she had no way of knowing how AI might react. She could simply ignore the blond, or worse case scenario, dismiss him outright. No one had any way of knowing whater her reaction might be.

This was the only way, and, as Naruto had resolved to meet EDI, now was as good a time as any.

"So commander, seriously?" Joker's immediate reply reached her before his chair turned full circle. "You brought a _Reaper_ on board?" She expected her pilot to chastise her. A wide boyish grin was all that awaited her, much to her charign. "So...how'd you do it? Did you twist his arm?" She knew at once Joker wasn't truly taking the matter seriously_- most weren't-_but even so, she'd have preffered panic to the sarcasm in her pilot's tone. "Threaten him with bodily harm? Or, wait! Don't tell me-

"He volunteered, Joker."

That took the wind right out of his sails.

_"Huh?"_

"Don't believe me?" Shepard crooked thumb over her shoulder. "Why don't you ask him about that BFL yourself?"

"BFL?" Joker muttered to himself, momentarily baffled. "What the hell is-oh. I get it! Big Freaking Laser. Nice one, commander. Gives me another reason to state the obvious: why the hell is that thing on our ship?" Shepard both felt and fought the urge to slap her pilot silly for his verbal gaffe. It was a damned good thing they needed him to fly the Normandy...

"I fail to understand the humor of the situation, Jeff."

"Yeah, me neither...

EDI blinked.

Ever since possesing Doctor Eva's body and claiming it as her own, EDI had been able to disembark from the Normandy whenever she so pleased. Whether that meant joining them on missions or simply accompanying them to the Citadel, she was no longer bound to the ship. Unfortunately, or fortunately, in some cases, Doctor Eva's body had been designed to blend in with humans. It lacked an epidermis_-having been burned off during the fire_-but her body remained distinctly humanoid, and _obviously_ female.

Now that body was staring at her through the orange visor that encompassed her vision, her posture torn somewhere between distress and anxiety. Upon noticing Isabelle she turned, presented the redhead with a full view of her profile.

"Shepard, I was unaware that we had a Reaper onboard." EDI began, her words warbling slightly with what Shepard thought was distress, "I have detected multiple programs attempting to breach my firewalls since its arrival." Shepard sighed. If there was one thing EDI resented above all else, if there was one thing she would not stand for it was a threat to her crewmates. Especially if that threat was an ancient AI with processing power several times her own.

_'Here we go again..._

"He's friendly." Shepard insisted, placating the distressed syntethic. "He wants to help us fight against the reapers.

Joker snorted.

"Yeah, like I'm letting a 'friendly' Reaper within three feet of her."

"I will be fine, Jeff." said EDI.

"Yeah, whatever you say...

Shepard sighed.

"It's alright EDI." She stole a glance back to the galaxy map, where Specialist Traynor was engaging in polite_-if not guarded-_conversation with said reaper. "He saved our lives back on Sur'Kesh. I think we can trust him." Even as she said this she forcibly stifled a laugh as Naruto gave what could be called the human equivalent of a shrug and tried to explain to the Traynor that he was not, in fact, hellbent on destroying all sentient life in the galaxy. Quite the opposite, in fact. He wanted to preserve it.

Then he made the mistake of mentioning the BFL and what he had done to the Cerberus mech. There was a silence. For a moment, Shepard feared the reaper had overplayed his hand. But just when she feared all was lost, Traynor held up her arm and consulted her omni-tool. Doubtlessly she was calling up the footage on Sur'Kesh. What would she think of it, though? Did Reapers take rejection well?

Peals of delighted laughter answered her questions seconds later, to which the commander's terse expression immediately softened. Good. They were getting along. She felt a small smile slip across her lips as the blond disengaged from the conversation, only to find himself approached by Engineer Adams. If anyone held a more lenient stance on an unstable topic like synthetic life, then it was him.

"Commander," Joker began, "I really don't think-

"Sh!" Shepard shushed him, gesturing for silence. She wanted to hear this. She wanted to _watch._ She waited with baited breath as Adams introduced himself, placing himself squarely in Naruto's sights. He extended a hand, as was proper, only for the proto-reaper to look at him strangely. After several seconds of humiliation, Engineer Adams gave up and lowered his arm.

"So you're really one of them, huh?" She could barely make out the engineer's voice from where she stood. "You certainly don't look like a...well, you know." He trailed off, all too willing to say it aloud, though the prescence of so many eyes and ears clearly gave him pause. He gestured furtively, an action which caused the Reaper to cross his arms, in a very human-like gesture.

"I am." Naruto answered tersely, his bright blue eyes glimmering blackly, bordering on irritation. "Is there something you wish to discuss?"

"Actually, there is." Even from here, she could see the man pulling up his omni-tool. "You and your, well, lets just call them your...um, pals...you're impossibly advanced. I've never seen these kind of readings before. Shields, armor plating, the works. If you're this strong as you are now, just imagine-

"Is this going somewhere, human?"

Engineer Adams scratched the back of his head.

"Well...yes. I was getting to that." The engineer punched in a few keys on his omni-tool, summoning a screen between them. "Sentinel...you don't mind if I call you Sentinel, do you? You mentioned something about our tantalus drive core earlier. You said it could be improved?" Naruto's ears flattened against his skull. He blinked. Once, twice, an thrice, struggling to control the shock flitting across his features.

There could be no denying the small smile that eventually won out across his face.

"I did mention such a thing, yes."

Adams practically bounced, quickly reigned himself in, and feigned disinterest.

"Is there any chance you could...I don't know...say, apply those upgrades to the Normandy?"

"I could." His gaze drifted toward the bridge. "But I would prefer to discuss it with the Normandy, first."

"You mean EDI?" Adams brightened. "She'd like that. The ol' girl could use someone besides Joker to keep her company up there. "

"She could?"

"She could." the engineer reassured him, winking conspiratorilly. The gesture was lost on Sentinel, but he seemed to take the words themselves into account. He touched his hand to his cheek, another human gesture, though this one served no purpose other than to make him appear even more startled than he already was. At length, he nodded, his decision made.

"I see...then I shall speak with her."

"Great!" Believing himself to have gotten his point across, the engineer slapped Naruto on the back. Thankfully he lacked Wrex's massive muscle, and didn't send the blond careening across the deck as the krogan nearly had. Rather, he opted once more for the traditional display of human camraderie.

"You know what? You're not so bad." Again, Adams thrust his hand forward; having apparently forgotten the hybrid's apparently lack of experience on the subject of human gestures and affirmation. For the second time, Sentinel was at a loss for words. Warily, tentatively, he took the man's palm and shook, firmly. He smiled, and it was pure as the sun, and perhaps just as simple. For a moment, Shepard actually glimpsed the man beneath.

"You're not so bad yourself...for a human."

Shepard sank her teeth into her lip to suppress a laugh and returned her attention to her pilot and copilot. EDI's expression bordered between euphoric and concern. She had yet to tear her gaze away, Shepard realized. Joker looked none too pleased. Mumbling something about indoctrination and the end of the world as they knew it, he turned his chair to face forward and made good on his attempt to stonewall their newest ally. Isabelle ignored him. Let Sentinel have his fun.

She'd been a tad bit suspicious with Legion at first, too, and look how that turned out. The geth had proven to be a valuable ally, one that saw her through the suicide mission and back. Granted, Naruto posed a great deal more risk, but with his naivete and simple mindedness now, as it had when they'd first met, he reminded her a great deal of the reclusive geth infiltrator with whom she'd become so well acquainted.

Most of the crew was having difficulty accepting the fact that they had a Reaper on board. Javik's reaction had been the only one that bordered on outright violence, but still a sideways look was occasionally tossed in the blonde's direction. At least he got along with Liara. The asari scientist, though clearly a specialist in all things Prothean, had been quite intrigued to learn of the Reaper's history, not only his own, but that of his race. Now, as they discussed the mechanics of the drive core and how it could be substantially improved, Isabelle allowed herself to drift back onto what they know knew of the reapers.

Apparently, the Reapers had a creator. Whoever that creator was, Naruto knew not. Only he and a select few, Sovereign and Harbinger for example, had any real sort of free will. The other reapers simply obeyed those who were in command, and, for the time being, this entity was Harbinger. There was no government to be had per-se. They held no consensus like the Geth, but unlike them, shared their thoughts across a vast, and mysterious network that joined all Reapers together. Some comparisons could be made to the geth of course, but as a whole, the Reapers were essentially sentient machines with the capability to bond themselves to a select lifeform and take complete control of it and its higher functions, if neccessary.

They'd witnessed this atrocious proccess with Saren on the Citadel. After Shepard convinced him to end it, to blow his brains out, Sovereign had taken control of his corpse. It had been a grisly, gruesome fight and one she hoped never to relive. The difference between them, he insisted, was that Sentinel and Naruto were now one. They'd been one for nearly several thousand years now, since the time of their Joining.

According to Naruto/Sentinel, the Joining consisted of a Reaper transferring its essence into a host. Willing or not. It was an irreversible proccess, undone only by the death of the host itself. A corpse could be possessed of course, but the transfer was weak. Incomplete. Whatever had caused Sentinel to take on human form, was something he would not speak of lightly. Least of all to them.

Additionally, The Joining, as it were, held several benefits for the host body itself. Shepard had already witnessed some of them. Regeneration. The ability to commandeer any weapon and instantly enhance it a thousand fold. In essence. Naruto _could_ have taken over the Atlas mech and made it his own, but he'd deemed destruction preferable at the time. Could he possess any technology? Could he interface with, and possibly control, the Normandy? He'd been obliquious on that topic.

And now she was about to introduce a rogue Reaper to an unshackled AI. Lovely.

"Am I correct in assuming that Sentinel is an ally?" EDI asked suddenly. Halfway across the corridor,

"Like Legion aided us against the Collectors." EDI's soothing voice pierced the doubt clouding her mind. It was hard to remember that she was, in fact, a synthetic. Just as the man presiding over the galaxy map was not a man at all.

"Exactly." Shepard nodded. "Naruto's not like the other reapers." She certainly hoped so. "There's no need to worry-

"One the contrary." EDI stated. "I look forward to meeting him."

Shepard gawped.

"Excuse me?"

"I have puzzled over the Reapers as a whole; moreso while the Normandy was being held in drydock." The AI explained, folding both arms behind her back. "Given our recent track record, this is our first encounter with one that does not openly promote hostility." A pause. "I...would like to speak with him, Shepard." She took two steps forward only to take three backwards. Suddenly, hesitant, the AI directed her gaze toward Isabelle once more.

"Shepard...I have a question."

_Not again!_

"Is it a big one or a small one?" she sighed, silently dreading another of the AI's infinite conundrums.

"That would depend on the answer."

"Alright, shoot."

The AI blinked rapidly, as shock overcame her features and composed. Seconds later the Normandy's guns discharged into deep space, eliciting a small tremor throughout the ship. Everyone turned toward the cockpit, alarmed. Were they under attack? Had they been fired upon? If not, then why had the Normandy inexplicably opened fire without an indetifiable target? Shepard knew the reason and nearly facepalmed.

"That was a euphimism, EDI."

"I see."

"So...what was your question again?"

"How do you think I should best approach Sentinel?"

Joker nearly guffawed in his seat, but a scathing glare from both females served to silence him.

"You'd like to?" Shepard asked, genuinely surprised.

"Very much so, yes." EDI almost sounded...eager. Strange.

The remark was something to puzzle over. EDI was aware of everything onboard the Normandy. How was it possible then, that she was looking forward to meeting Sentinel as if they'd never met? This was a question that needed answering, and so, Isabelle decided to give voice to her inquiry.

"Wait a second. Haven't you, you know, _already_ met him?"

"I am, as you would say, not peeking." EDI sounded just a tiny bit cheeky as she struggled to keep her all-seeing gaze away from Specialist Traynor and Naruto. "I _am_ curious however, to meet him. It would be interesting to learn his views of synthetic lifeforms." Even as she said this, Naruto disengaged from his conversation with Adams, and made his way toward the cockpit.

"Well, it really doesn't matter what I say."

"Shepard?"

"Because you're about to get your chance."

EDI made a small sound that Shepard could equate to interest, then turned her attention toward the blond as he bid Adams farewell and made his way toward the bridge. The smallests of sighs left his lips as he cleared the last few steps. Remarkably, he didn't stare at EDI. Instead, he turned his attention toward Shepard.

"Is this the cockpit, commander?" He asked aloud.

"No, this is the cargo bay!" Joker grumbled. "The cockpit's over there." He pointed at the airlock. "Just open that door and take a left. Can't miss it." For a moment it looked as if the reaper might actually take the suggestion to heart. Then he scowled.

"I have familiarized myself with the layout and anatomy of this vessel, human." Naruto began, his voice black as space, "Were I to open the door you so suggest, it would lead to the airlock and my ejection from this ship in a most uncomfortable fashion." He paused, allowing his words to sink in, to lay their weight upon the pilot. "Now, I will ask you again. _Is. This. The. Cockpit."_

"Yes." EDI answered, cutting off whatever Joker might have said in retaliation. "I'm afraid I must apologize for _Mr. Moreau's_ childlike behavior. His behavior is unusually erratic today." Shepard winced at that. _Ouch._ Use of the formal name. But Naruto wasn't looking at Joker anymore. He was focused on EDI. He stared at her his once stern gaze wide with surprise.

"Sentinel," Shepard introduced them, "EDI. EDI, meet Sentinel," The blonde's eyebrows jumped at the mention, but he said nothing more on the matter. Thankfully, he made no move to whip out the cannon either, which was always a good thing.

"Greetings." Naruto said, by way of introduction.

"Hello." EDI smiled.

_"Goodbye."_ Joker groused, ignoring the questioning look the Reaper gave him. Before anyone could say anything, he pushed forward and placed a hand against the console. It flickered briefly, the orange hues glowing a ghastly blue.

"Whoa there!" Joker exclaimed aghast, gawping at the human reaper and unshackled AI. "EDI, we can't just let him into the Normandy's systems-

Naruto grinned a boyish grin.

"This unit would gladly accept that offer." Then it soured. "But another time perhaps. I am merely ascertaining the condition of this ship."

"It's my ship!" Joker protested. "Get your wires out of it!"

"Perhaps we should speak privately." EDI suggested.

_'Say no more.'_

Without another word, Shepard moved toward the exit. EDI followed, as did Naruto, shooting a backward glance at Joker as he went. She could see confusion in those eyes of sapphire and scarlet, as well as suspicion. And, perhaps, just a glimmer of anger.

"I'll be over here," Joker sighed, looking over his shoulder as they exited the cockpit. "Flying the ship." He watched as the door slid shut behind them. "Reapers." He muttered to himself, checking the systems for any sort of bugs. "I can't believe we're working with a reaper!"

Shepard led the way, guiding them to the corridor just outside the cockpit itself.

"Your pilot dislikes me." Naruto noted as they came to a stop in the hallway.

"Was it that obvious?"

"It was."

"I myself cannot understand Jeff's behavior." EDI answered, slipping back into a first name basis with her pilot, as she took up a place on the wall opposite him. "Though I can understand his extreme attachment to the Normandy." If Sentinel took offense to this, then he did little to show it. That much was obvious. He wasn't interested in Joker. With the distractions removed, his attention was free to fixate itself upon EDI once more. Shepard wasn't quite sure whether a Reaper could be capable of love, or other emotions, but she didn't like the way in which he was staring.

"So...

"How do your kind function?" EDI asked, suddenly.

"We are each a nation, independent, free of all weakness." Naruto explained, oblivious to the subtle shudder running down Shepard's spine. "Creatures of flesh and blood are incapable of comprehending us; they cannot even grasp the nature of our existence." A small smile worked its way across his face. "At least, this was I thought before I met your commander."

"Shepard is quite influential when it comes to securing allies." EDI agreed, nodding.

"Indeed."

"Where do you come from?" Once again, the AI pressed on in her line of questioning.

"We have no beginning." The blond shook his head. "Nor do we have no end. We are infinite. Millions of years after humankind has come and gone, we will endure. That does not make us immortal, however." A grimace of self-castigation. "My brothers and sisters can be killed...as can I. Though few can boast of such a feat." His gaze slid to Isabelle and back again, but he said nothing more on the subject.

"Then you believe that the war cannot be won?"

"I believe there will be sacrifices." Naruto answered.

"You did not answer my question." EDI pressed, her lips pursed.

"I do not see the relevance of this line of questioning." He replied. "Every moment we delay is another in which Harbinger comes closer to cultivating your race."

"Wait, you know Harbinger?"

"Yes." Naruto answered simply. "He is among the greatest of us. Harbinger, Vengeance, myself, Triumph, and Chaos are what you might call the "leaders" of our race. And as such we are feared and respected. There was much anger after Sovereign's destruction. Retaliation was demanded." Shepard flashed back to the attack on the Normandy. So, that was retaliation, huh? She'd died from that. Something she never wanted to relive again.

"I killed one of them."

_"You did what?"_

"Chaos was to lead the invasion before Sovereign." Naruto's eyes had gone dark. "It was impatient. Reckless. Arrogant. It desired the destruction of all life, not just those that were sentient. I disagreed. We fought. In that time...I was not as I am now. I was newly joined. I was stronger, and it, weaker. I did not share its views and thus, I destroyed Chaos as it would have destroyed me, given the chance. But the battle took its toll on me. I was cast adrift. This, was in the time before your kind discovered the Mass Relays, before they found the technology laid out for you by the Protheans Archives on Mars."

He paused then, chin tucked against his chest.

"I have a message from that time." He said, softly. "Would you like to hear it?"

"Please."

Naruto stiffened then went slack.

There was a silence.

Then:

He jerked upright, his eyes burning like a thousand suns.

_Sentinel, you've changed nothing. The destruction of Chaos only delays the inevitable. You cannot save the humans. Their species has the full attention of those infinitely their better. That which they call Reapers are their salvation through destruction...as are you. You have allowed your human shell to corrupt you to sway your judgement. You have failed. Your resistance is futile. We will find another way. Releasing control..."_

Naruto slumped, the golden glow draining from his eyes. Shepard stepped forward to catch him, but in the end, there was no need. Naruto stood woodenly, not taking enough care in his movements, his eyes opening and fluttering shut. When he blinked again, they had returned to their true blue.

"What was that?" Shepard demanded, shuddering at the sound of her old enemy. "That sounded like...

"A message." Naruto steadied himself, against the console. "During my time in cryo-stasis, Harbinger attempted to bypass my systems and take control of this body. He did not succeed. Additionally, his failure resulted in the downloaded information that I believe you may find useful. Addendum: This information may no longer be up to date, as Harbinger has likely become of my escape from Sur'Kesh."

"Any intel is better than no intel." EDI answered. He smiled at that, a small, broken smile, gone as quickly as it came.

"Perhaps." Naruto nodded. "My views vex him. I cannot predict what course of action he might take, now that I am free. With Sovereign dead at your hands and Chaos slain at mine, Harbinger, Vengeance, and Triumph will seek to bring about an end to us before we can gather the army you seek."

"Why are you telling us this?"

Naruto tilted his head.

"Because...I fully intend to die before I allow my brothers and sisters to continue this wretched pattern. But I digress. We should be nearing the Mass Relay soon. Feel free to alert me once we arrive within Tuchanka's atmosphere." Without another word, he turned and made for the elevator, choosing to ignore the deafening silence of both women at his back. He'd nearly made it to the elevator when EDI called out:

_"Sentinel."_

The reaper paused, head half cocked in EDI's direction.

"I would...appreciate the chance to speak with you again." she said, more a small, hopeless wish then a command. The Reaper stood there a moment longer, his foot still half way in the door, the other, resting upon the bulkhead beyond it.

"I will be in Life Support if further discussion is required." The ghost of a smile touched his lips, and then he was gone, stepping through the doors as they snapped shut with a whispery hiss.

"Looks like he made quite the impression." Shepard mused.

"Thank you, Commander." EDI whispered.

_"Hmm?"_

"I am needed on the bridge." Was the AI's immediate reply, turning and advancing toward the cockpit at a steady pace.

"Needed, huh?"

Neither of them said anything further, both choosing to stare out of their respective view ports and contemplate their decisions. Soon the mass relay came into view, it's shining core washing out the pinpricks of light from the stars. It took only a few moments for them to come alongside the relay, an arc of energy lancing out to encompass their ship, and make the jump to the citadel. Now all that could be seen outside of the window was a rush of blue light with minute variations throughout.

Shepard bid EDI farewell and made for the elevator as well. Not to assauge Naruto, but rather, to pay a visit to a certain asari. Tuchanka was still several hours away, and she needed to blow off some steam. Needed to _be_ with her, needed to _feel_ her, to touch her, to hold her, needed to forget about all of this just for a little while...

She felt the doors open for her, felt her head pounding as she the lift rose to the third floor. Tonight, god willing, she'd sleep peacefully in the arms of her lover. Tonight, she'd have peace. She'd deal with her guilt-and the potential rift she'd formed with Joker-first thing in the morning. But tonight, oh, tonight...

"Liara, do you have a moment?" She didn't allow her the chance to answer as the door to the asari's office slid open. She stepped inside, locking it behind her, a smile slipping across her features as she slipped the little black dress from her shoulders. Thankfully, the asari was far too engrossed in her work to notice. Far too busy to notice until it was too late. A soft, tender kiss upon her cheek changed all of that, trailing across her neck in a series of slow, sweet touches.

"Shepard?" For all her confidence, all her resources, all her biotic power, the Shadow Broker _squeaked_ in surprise. She tried to speak, tried to say that she was busy, but when the words came they were overwhelmed; drowned out by the lull of her lover's lips. No words were needed. None were necessary. She dropped the datapad ignoring the small device as it chimed at her, demanding her attention.

A rough biotic pull yanked her toward the bed.

The galaxy could wait a little while longer...

...blissfully unaware of the disaster that was to come.

**A/N: Hehehe! Hope you liked the romance at the end! Oho! Seems Joker is a bit jealous! Also, awww at Naruto/Sentinel's sad past! He'll have someone to cheer him up very soon! Also, as a side not, I am not, not NOT happy about the deaths of Mordin, Thane, and Legion in the ME universe. I might just change that in this story? Be sure to let me know what you think of that, and if they should, or should not be saved from death. Also...**

**WE GET TO SEE NARUTO KICK SOME REAPER ASS AS OF NEXT CHAPPY! TUCHANKA! MORDIN! THE CITADEL COUP! THANE! RANNOCH! AND...LEGION? That's right! WE GET TO SEE LEGION IN A FEW CHAPTERS! That means three incredibly powerful, not to mention intelligent AI will be on board the Normandy at one time...what could possibly go wrong?**

**Stay tuned to find out!**

**R&R! =D**


	4. CuRe

**A/N: I'm on an updating spree! I've ust updated Guardian of the Heart and since I'm on such a roll, I figured I might as well update this one, too! This chap is full of action, sadness, and romance. Here, we bid farewell to a scientist salarian...or do we?**

_"Asari-Vorcha offspring have an allergy to dairy and dididididodododididididodoo..._

_~Mordin Solus._

_**Cure**_

Shepard would soon learn just how deadly Sentinel was when it came to combating reaper forces.

_"Heads up!"_ James bellowed as the behemoth charged through the troops, swatting them aside with reckless abandon. It ploughed right through him; knocking the marine off his feet and onto his ass as it barreled forward and into the crash site, scattering turian troops like rag dolls. Lieutenant Victus and his men drew back, peppering the creature with their assault rifles, but to no avail. It surged forward, intent on one target.

_Commander Shepard._

"Son of a-

A stray shot from a marauder tore through her depleted shields and cracked the casing of her helmet. Not enough to wound her, but more than enough to leave her dazed. In a panic she stepped back, only for a concussive blast to strike her from behind. Staggered, her shields overwhelmed, the commander was nearly forced to her knees. Not quite

"Shepard!" Garrus shouted, poking his head out of cover, only to be driven back by a hail of cannon fire from cannibals. Shepard ducked out of sight as well silently hoping her shields would recover in time whilst-

Where was he?

She spun about, casting a desperate glance for the fourth and final member of her team. _Sentinel._ She'd seem him not a moment ago, tearing the legs off a marauder. Where jad he gone? The elusive reaper was nowhere to be seen. Not surprising, giving the amount of cover surrounding them, but still! But before she could proccess this, there was the matter of the great goliath bearing down upon her. Quickly. Very quickly!

Isabelle swore a blue streak, holstered her pistol, and drew the sniper rifle. She took aim, sighted down her scope, tracked with the Brute's movement, and fired. The sniper rifle bucked against her arm, the powerful recoil nearly jarring her shoulder from its socket. The high velocity projectile seared toward its target, streaking down at the head of the brute. At the last second, before impact, the reaper creature tucked its head; the high velocity bullet pinging harmlessly against its armor as it surged forward.

And then it was upon her.

Shepard threw up her arms as the Brute charged; as its claw connected with her ribs, as her shields shattered, as...

_...nothing happened._

"Are you still functional, commander?"

Her gaze snapped upright.

_"Wha?"_

Naruto stood before it, hand upraised against the behemoth's claw. The beast quivered against him, its feet scrabbling against the soil for purchace. Finding none, it uttered a ghastly snarl and brought its other arm around in a lethal roundhouse. Naruto took the blow full to the face. He grinned. Took a step forward. Then another. And another. And another still, pushing the monstrosity back with sheer strength alone. A small tremor ran through his body as he did this, and, for a moment, Shepard thought the Reaper was trembling from the sheer effort it took to hold the beast at bay.

_"Hmph."_

This single sound shattered all pretence. Sentinel wasn't trembling, Shepard realized. _He was laughing._ She watched his muscles bulge watched; watched as the wire slithered forth from his flesh and merged with him, forming a strange second skin. And still the Brute struggled with Sentinel, failing to prevail.

"Is this all you have?" he inquired pleasantly of his opponent. "If so**...allow me to remind you of your place."**

With a demented cackle that sounded a bit too human for her liking, the Reaper drilled the Brute into the arid soil of Tuchanka. It scrabbled upward with a planitive cry only to be dragged back down into the dust seconds later. Then she saw Naruto. Robed in electric blue light; girded in raw power, he _pounced_, tackling the brute to thee earth, where he made quick work of its armor. Rich, ropy tendrils of blue energy tore the plating free and sundered its flesh, scouring it clean of all life.

When the Reaper next emerged, he was a thing transformed. In place of his right arm, he bore a massive claw, not unlike that of the Brute he'd just vanquished. It lacked any sort of flaw, however, and was a great deal more streamlined. The reaper gave it a few experimental swings then lowered it, apparently satisified with the newest addition. He extended his hand, his human hand, and helped Shepard to her feet.

"Did you just take that things arm?"

"Correct." He flexed his new weapon for emphasis. "I can repurpose my limbs and meld them with synthetic technology as I please. Allow me to demonstrate." Swiveling, that claw snapped forward and closed around a Marauder, collapsing its shields and neatly snapping the creature in half. Before the creature's toppled halves could so much as fall, he rounded on a pack of cannibals and repeated the function. Seconds after the fact, the remaining reaper forces fell to the ground in a heap of broken body parts

"I gotta get me one of those." James muttered as he swung himself over a ledge.

Shepard paid the lieutenant no mind.

Rather, she was focused on their objective. They'd come here to rescue the primarch's son.

"Lieutenant Victus?"

"Commander, my men and I owe you our lives." The lieutenant lowered himself from the ledge. "Thank you for the assist."

"You can thank him." Shepard jerked a thumb over her shoulder at her erstwhile comrade.

"Thank who, commander?" Victus asked.

Sentinel was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

><p>It was not until after they'd discovered, dealt with, and disarmed the turian bomb, that Isabelle finally found the reaper back aboard the Normandy. When she discovered him, sitting there in Life Support, she paid to attention to the tech dismantled on a nearby table. She felt only anger. That, and betrayal. Where had he gone? Where had he been? One way or the other, she was going to find out.<p>

"Where _the hell_ were you?" These were the first words out of her mouth; thick with rage and barely controlled fury. She expected him to defend himself. To react with surprise or perhaps indignation, as a human would. It was in times such as these that she forgot Naruto/Sentinel, was no mere soldier. The Reaper turned away from his pet project, a and blinked quizically at her.

"Are you referring to the incident with Lieutenant Victus?" he asked.

"You're damn right I am!" Isabelle couldn't keep the venom from soaking into her words. They'd sorely needed him on that mission! Not only had the bomb site been _swarmed_ with Cerberus troops; troops that would have likely broken rank and fled outright when faced with a being of Sentinel's magnitude. Instead, they'd been forced to slog through wave upon wave of desperate troopers, centurions, and engineers, while Victus and his men struggled to circle around the bomb site. Instead, they'd lost the lieutenant, and a third of the ninth platoon, all just to disarm the bomb. So yes, she was justifiably angry.

"I did not wish to be seen by the turians."Naruto replied, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "They would have seen me as a threat." His words did little to quell Isabelle's anger, but quell it they did. So _that_ was why he'd disappeared.

"Then why couldn't I find you!"

Another blink.

"Because I didn't want to be found."

Shepard facepalmed.

_"Clarify."_

"This body has several stealth capabilities." Sentinel responded. "Camoflauge is amongst them."

"That still doesn't explan why I couldn't find you."

"I was contacted by EDI upon my return to the Normandy." Naruto replied, suddenly evasive. "She wished to converse with me." Aha! So at last the true culprit revealed! She had half a mind to give the AI a stern talking to, but Shepard refrained.

"I can't have you runnning off when we need you." she regretted the words as soon as she'd said them. The Reaper dropped the components he was working on, the bearings clanging harmlessly against her

Naruto bristled, visibly stung by the remark.

"I am your ally, commander. _Not_ your weapon." He slammed his hands into the table, leaving deep rivets in the metal." I expect to be treated as such!" Even as he lurched to his feet his hands were healing, the broken fingers resetting themselves. Despite herself, despite the pain blossoming across her spine, Shepard felt relief. That he could react as such meant that Sentinel had emotions. That had emotions meant he wasn't entirely synthetic.

Perhaps he was human in some ways after all.

Then her head greeted the metal grating of the floor and there was only blackness.

* * *

><p>When Shepard finally came to, she found herself in her cabin. She knew this because the soft lull of jazz reached her ears even as she shook the last remnants of her dreams from her mind. Warily, Isabelle opened her eyes. What she saw there froze the blood in her veins. Naruto was standing across from her his back facing the door. Arms folded for his chest, eyes closed, he said nothing.<p>

His eyes slid open as she sat up, propping herself up on her elbows.

"You're awake." he noted.

"Did you just attack me?"

"You provoked me." The Reaper replied.

Shepard paused, considering her words. On one hand, she wanted to lash out at the reaper for his violent behavior as she would any other member of her squad. On the other she also felt that an apology was owed. That, and something in his gazed warned that further agression would be met with more agression.

"Yeah."

"We're about to hit the Shroud." Shepard sighed. "Make sure you show up this time." For a moment, the hybrid said nothing. He closed his eyes, allowing his lids to drift shut for the briefest of instants. His chest ceased rising and falling, leaving him entirely still. For a moment Shepard thought he'd gone into some sort of stasis. When his eyes flew open half a heartbeat latr, she jumped, just as the blood red irises jumped out at her in place of sapphire.

Sentinel frowned.

"I understand there is a reaper on Tuchanka."

"What?"

"You forget yourself, commander." The reaper frowned. "I am able to sense others of my kind, even across entire star systems. This has not diminished merely because I have taken human form. I also sense_-ah."_ Before the commander could protest, the synthetic's smile flipped upright and into a mischevious grin. She wanted to ask about it, but he was grinning now, and quite honestly, it frightened her.

"Something I should know?" She asked Sentinel.

"Take the shuttle without me." He decided suddenly. "I will meet you on Tuchanka." Without another word, he turned and strode from the room. Shepard was just about to say it was she who would make such a decision, that it was she who would decided whether or not he boarded the shuttle, when the reaper dissappeard. His tactical cloak snapped into place across his fleeing form even as he stepped into the elevator.

Isabelle was tempted to pursue, but she knew she wouldn't find him. Not even EDI could locate him with his cloak engaged. Fine, then. If the reaper wanted to play hardball then she could play hardball. Still, she couldn't shake the unease she'd felt when he smiled. It was a trickster's grin, one that was far too human to be synthetic. Sentinel was planning something. Whatever that something was, it probably boded ill for the reaper on Tuchanka, and perhaps, her team as well.

She had a bad feeling about this...

* * *

><p><em>(Meanwhile)<em>

Shepard was pissed.

Together with her team, she'd slogged through hordes of reaperized husks, cannibals, marauders, brutes, and rachni. They'd fought and fled their way through the temple, an almost sucidal plan in mind. Activate a pair of maw hammers to summon Kalross to the shroud. Now they were running for her life, and trying to set off the last maw hammer without being crushed underfoot by the giant reaper destroyer overhead.

Isabelle slapped her hand down upon the panel, gasping for air as the hammer descended. It struck the metal with a thunderous clang, sending subtle vibrations, beneath the soil. She could only hope that the noise would draw Kalross in. If not, well...it'd been one hell of a ride.

"Go!" She shouted at her squadmates, waving them away . "Get back to the truck! I'll take care of the cure!" Much to her surprise, Javik obeyed, and without protest. Well the prothean had alwasy been good at taking orders. Liara lingered a moment longer, but obeyed all the same. Isabelle watched her lover retreat to te safety of the rover, and not without some regret. Would Sentinel come through for them?

She was about to find out.

A far off cry sounded in the distance, drowning out that of the maw hammers. Shepard rounded on the sound, her eyes flying wide as she saw a looming shape burst forth for and from the soil. Kalross had come. The ground reaper turned, the eerie red aparatus that was its eye, glowing with malevolence. An earsplitting bass note emerged from its base as it lumbered forward, each step bringing it closer to its target, each movement causing the earth to quake beneath the commander's feet.

But it wasn't just the Reaper. The soil itself continued to lurch upright in fits and spurts, a sure sign of the thresher maw's approach. Isabelle stood there, mesmerized by the sheer magnitude of this creature, even as it approached. She needed to get out of here, lest she be caught up in their confrontation.

And then she saw him.

Shepard gawped.

There, riding the giant worm like a bucking bronco. Sentinel. The reaper's eyes shone like red hot coals in his skull, and his hands were rubbed raw, but he was clinging to the mother of all thresher maw for all he was worth. A wild grin, a gorgeous white streak in the arid atmosphere of Tuchanka, tore across his face. Shepard had only an instant to comprehend this before the hybrid let out a great and terrible cry, overshadowing the bass note created by its kin.

_"Charge!"_

Kalross dove beneath the ground, even as the reaper fired. Its laser tore through the soil, digging deep trenches through the earth. And then the earth erupted. Ten thousand tons of thresher maw surged upward and into the reaper, its mandibles locking around the giant machine in a gross macabre of an embrace. The reaper fired wildly, searing a path of destruction toward Shepard even as it wrestled with the worm and its erstwhile passenger.

Tackled to the ground, the reaper, spat fire and fury, forcing Isabelle to seek cover.

Naruto roared something in reaper tongue, and the reaper replied with a bleating note of fury. They thrashed wildly about, destroying the temple around them. Levering itself upright, the gigantic Reaper levered itself southward, hurling its equally massivve attacker sideways and into the tower of the the Shroud. Her world shook. Naruto grunted as he found himself trapped between the bulk of his mount and the uncompromising steel of the tower. Shepard cried.

_Kalross screamed._

Its entire body went limp, loosely sliding back into its hole, even as the reaper fired. Then there was silence. Only the howling winds of Tuchanka. Satisfied that its foe had at last been vanquished, the reaper turned its attention back to the Shroud. It paid no heed to the ground beneath its feet.

That was a mistake.

Kalross remerged. _Violently._ The massive maw clamped down upon the reaper's head, dragging it headfirst into to the lifeless soil of Tuchanka. Scarce had it done so than the reaper began to struggle, firing wildly, but to no avail. Kalross coiled about it, constricting the reaper, and dragging it down into the depths, before it could so much as cry out in protest. Naruto sprinted atop the reapers head and thrust his hand into its flesh, the metal carapace bending away against his touch even as it sank beneath the ground. In less than five seconds, it was over. Naruto removed a small, spherical device from the reaper's head.

The proto-reaper leapt; long and high, away from the corpse of his former comrade, his leap taking him over Shepard's head. But something was wrong. Terribly, horribly wrong. Even as Sentinel leapt, he was falling. He landed, lopsided, collapsing in a pool of his own blood, and fell still. Shepard felt like she'd been stabbed. _No._ He couldn't be dead. He couldn't. He just couldn't.

In his hand lay the sphere he'd wrested from the reaper. It looked like...a core. Small, true, but a compact version of the human reaper core. The one, she'd fought at the Collector Base. It pulsed against his fingers like a creature alive; struggling through its last beat as she looked on. She felt strangely drawn to it and found herself reaching outward, her fingertips brushing across the alien core-

"I wouldn't touch that...were I you."

Isabelle started at the raw gasp surfacing beneath her hand.

Goddess...the bastard was still alive!

Sentiel pulled himself upright, his gaze never leaving hers. Rather, he tried. Shepard could see the damage that had been done him. He was missing his left leg, and his right arm had been blown clear off with most of his shoulder. Surprisingly, he remained calm. Though his chest labored to draw breath, his gaze remained calm. His body was slow, struggling to restructure the damage that had been done it. She could see the holes in his flesh, the great, gaping, tears were the reapers laser had sheared through his flesh, exposing the cybernetics beneath.

"Get to the Shroud, commander." A grimace of self-castigation as he tried to rise. "I'll join you shortly."

"But-

"Shepard." He hissed through gritted teeth. "Go."

"You can't expect me to leave you here-

_**"GO!"** _Sentinel roared, shoving her away from him with his remaining leg. His eyes were wider now, frenzied. She could see the desperation locked within them now, even as the core within his hands began to vibrate and pulsate like a ticking time bomb. Stung by his action, Shepard stepped back. She continued to move backward never taking her eyes from him, until she reached the door to the shroud facility.

"What're you doing with that?" she called across at him.

Sentinel's voice carried across the field of debris, in a broken whisper.

"Something I should have done a long time ago."

Her last sight was of Sentinel pressing the core against his chest.

* * *

><p><em>(Meanwhile at the Shroud)<em>

"Had to be me." Mordin said to himself. "Someone else might have gotten it wrong."

It had to be him.

Once, he could have thought death problematic. Not anymore. Not now, as he rose to meet his destiny. Not when he was about to cure the genophage, to undo the bane that had haunted the krogan for several centuries. No, Mordin Solus did not fear his death. Would have liked to run tests on seashells, though.

At the cost his life.

He steeled himself as the elevator rose, ascending to the top of the tower. He drew in a deep breath. And then it started. He started to sing. Even as the doors wooshed open; even as he struggled through wave upon wave of explosions. He sang as he had once before, aboard the Normandy.

"I am the very model of a scitenctist salarian, I've studied species Turian Asari and Batarian. I'm quite good at genetics as a subset of biology; because I am an expert which I know is a tautalogy...

He set his fingers to the keys, swiftly accounting for the variance in temperature, correcting the sabotage set by the STG. In a matter of moments, the shroud VI informed him of his success. Mordin smiled. Good. Cure dispersed. Eve alive. Good match for Krogan. Good end to a life. His life. Drawing a deep breath, he began the last verse:

"My xenoscience studies range from urban to agrarian I am the very model of-

And then the tower exploded.

Mordin felt the fire. He felt the flame. He felt the heat, searing into his flesh, smoldering across his skin and then...nothing. Nothing at all. A dull whump sounded from beyond his vision; pursued by great wind. It swept across the tower, extinguishing the flames with a dull _whoosh._ Creating a path. Peering through the smoke, and the debris, he saw him. He caught the sight of platinum blond hair, streaked with silver.

_...a scientist Salarian?"_

Odd.

Mordin clearly recalled his hair having been blond.

"You're death is unecessary, Doctor Solus."

"Ah." Mordin blinked up at his unexpected saviour. "Sentinel. Arrival...unexpected."

"We're leaving, doctor."

Mordin didn't have a chance to refuse. Not that he would have, mind you, but still, he didn't have a chance as the rejuvenated reaper yanked him away from the console and hauled them, together, out into open air. They hung there for a moment, reaper and salarian, the latter slung over the former's shoulder, the former wearing a wild grin with reckless abandon, even as the tower burst into flames and began to crumble at their backs. Then gravity claimed them.

Mordin's last thought was that the fall would be problematic before as the soil of Tuchanka rushed up to greet him. He caught sight of a shuttle in his peripheal vision, and he had the most sickening realization of where they were going to land. The shuttle doors swung open, miles below them; miles below their inevitable impact.

Thankfully he passed out long before Sentinel crashed feetfirst into Cortez's shuttle.

**A/N: I DEFY YOU BIOWARE! ****MORDIN LIIIIIIIVES! I thought about it, and, in the end, I just couldn't bear to let him die. We'll get to see a touch of NarutoxEDI next chappy-Joker won't like that-followed by the Citadel, Rannoch, and who knows what else! This story is going to be a tale unlike any other, as I'm sure you've guessed by now. Thank you again for all of your support! This story wouldn't be what it was without all of your wonderful reviews! Which brings me to the last part of this chapter.**

**Now, for your viewing pleasure...for the first time ever...An OMAKE!**

* * *

><p><em>(Omake)<em>

Commander Shepard was wondering why Naruto had called her down to Life Support. He'd sounded...enthused. And that was rare. For a reaper, at least. With Mordin's cure successfully dispersed across the whole of Tuchanka, she figured she could be lenient and grant the synthetic's request for an audience.

So here they were, with Naruto grinning from ear to here.

"You wanted to see me?" Isabelle asked.

"Yes, yes." Naruto nodded as he fidled with something on the table, only to stand seconds later. "I wanted to show you something." He held something behind his hands now, an almost childish grin plastered across his features. Shepard resisted the urge to laugh.

"And that something would be?"

"This," Naruto explained, holding up the device, "Is a data core. It is the very essence of my kind."

"I've seen something like that before," Shepard replied. "Aren't they usually, well, larger?"

"Sometimes, yes." Naruto nodded, charigned. "But this reaper was still in its infancy. It was only a few cycles old." Shepard found that hard to believe. The reaper had been a whopping one hundred and sixty meters tall!

"Wait, you want to activate it?"

"With your permission, yes." Naruto answered. "I could give it form and flesh, like myself, but smaller. The repercussions would be...neglible." The reaper didn't sound entirely certain even as he stared at the data core. That troubled Isabelle.

"You don't sound certain."

"This has never been done before. "Sentinel pointed out. "I cannot be sure of how she will react."

Shepard blinked.

_"She?"_

"Yes." answered Naruto, as though this explained everything.

"How can that thing be a she?"

"You misunderstand." The blond shook his head. "I will give this core a portion of substance. _My substance._ It will bear resemblence to me, but I will shape it as I see fit." That was an odd way of putting, she mused. "I will draw from my memories as a human to give this core shape."

"Won't that...I don't know, hurt you?"

Sentinel paused at that.

"It is possible, yes."

"So...you're giving birth, then."

"No." The word cut through all pretence, shattering the assumption that this ritual was what she'd thought it to be. "My kind do not reproduce in this fashion. I am creating an extension of myself. A copy, a clone, if you will. This is not meant to facilitate copulation. I cannot guaranttee succcess, however. Without further adeu, he held the core up for her to see, his glove fingers wrapping themselves around its scarred and pitted surface.

"Please step back, commander."

Sentinel gripped the core tightly within his fingers, gripping it with both hands. As Shepard looked on the destroyer's heart loosed an erratic pulse. Thump. She blinked as they began to glow, reaper and core, until the blinding light burst before her retina in a shower of fluid and fog. Isabelle scrubbed at her eyes with the back of a hand, eerily, aware that she was covered in sticky fluid.

When the smoke finally cleared, another stood beside Naruto.

She didn't look a thing like him.

Raven tresses lofted around a heart-shaped face, from which eyes of pale lavender shown. She was naked. There was not a trace of the wiring present in the elder Reaper nor was ther any sign of alteration. For all extensive purposes, she looked like an eight-year old child.

The girl squinted up at him.

She spoke in alien tongue, her words emerging as little more than gibberish. Shepard blinked. The girl turned back to Naruto and spoke again, her tone harsh, clipped. Naruto answered in kind, refusing to meet her gaze. The girl looked at herself. At him. Back to herself. Back to him again. Her eyes, already large pearls, grew larger still. She swung around on Sentinel, rounding on him, glaring pale daggers when she tripped and stumbled. She shouted at him, her words emerging as a frantic garbled snarl. Her hands beat ineffectually at the floor as she fell, bellying her clumsiness.

Sentinel reached down to pluck her off the deck and the child swatted his hand away.

"Oh dear." he remarked.

"What?" Shepard pressed, feeling the need to speak up. "What happened?"

"She isn't pleased, Shepard." the reaper began, slowly. "She is disoriented, confused-

The girl froze at the mention of that name.

She pointed at Shepard.

"This one calls itself Near." Naruto explained.

_"Near?"_

The girl let out an electronic squeal of protest.

Naruto emitted a bass hiss that sounded like a negative. The girl posed an inquiry. Naruto replied in kind. They went back and forth like this for several seconds before the girl nodded, albeit grudgingly. She didn't look at all pleased. Naruto nudged her toward Isabelle. The child crossed her arms over her chest and appeared to sulk. Her face was flat and emotionless, however, leaving Shepard utterly clueless as to the progeny's mental outlook. Naturally, she was caught completely flatfooted when the girl spoke.

"Hanabi."

Shepard nearly fell over.

"She can speak?"

"Are all primates so ignorant? Hanabi/Near asked suddenly, pointedly. She sounded just like a little girl! Shepard fought to resist the moe and failed quite spectacularly. With a girlish squeal unbefitting of a commanding officer, she leaned forward to pinch the cheeks of the reaper child.

"Aaaawww! Look at you! Your so cute!"

"Commander," Naruto began, "I wouldn't do that if I were you...

"Why not!" Isabelle exclaimed. "She's adorable!"

Too late.

Near twitched.

"Y-You..." Sparks lanced through the child and into the commander. "Get your hands off of me you filthy primate!"

This time, Shepard did fall over.

She'd also be spending a month in med bay.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Gods, I scare myself sometimes! Hope you liked the Omake! So, should I include Near/Hanabi in this ficlet as well? I thought it would be nice for Naruto/Sentinel to have another of his kind to whom he can relate. Who knows? He might even sway Vengeance and Triumph to his side by the end of this story. Also...I DEFY YOU BIOWARE! **

**MORDIN LIIIIIIIVES!**

**R&R! =D**


	5. Sensation

**A/N: Glad you guys liked the omake! After much thought, I have decided to continue this story! I also have a neat little surprise for you...be sure to read the author's note at the end! **

**With that being said, lets get on with the story!**

_"Do not speak to me as though you are my equal, human...because you are nothing less than dirt in these eyes of my kind."_

_~Near_

**Sensation**

Near was not pleased.

Not at all.

Not only had she been killed by a thresher maw, not only had she been humiliated by one of her own, kind, but he had to bring her back in this body. This body! The body of a child! Of an infant! A fleshling! Her soul_-or the reaper equivalent of one-_raged against the bonds of this fragile form in futility. Where was her power? Her strength? Her speed? Her endurance? It was gone! All of it! Gone!

She touched a hand to her chest where her heart beat_-Where. Her. Heart. Beat!-_fighting the urge to tear it out of her chest. The essence that was her core had been dispersed throughout her body, so tearing the organ out would do little in the way of endangering her life but she still wanted it out anyway. This body, this disgusting coffin of flesh and bone, felt like death itself. She was weak. Frail. Fragile.

_Mortal._

This skin, this strange moist elastic covering, it fairly burst with sensation. She'd never imagined. Even the simple play of a borrowed shirt across her chest-she was breathing! made her toes curl with disgust. She had toes and they curled! Unimaginable for a synthetic who'd stood hundred of meters tall with wide, slats for feet. The luminescent light of the human vessel had become warm and silky across those feet, no longer sliding off her body with a sterile, slick disdain for metal. It lingered and caressed.

And part of Near_-a very small part!-_delighted in it.

"This is...odd." she said to herself. She said what she thought just for the twin pleasures of feeling the words bubble up in her throat and hearing her voice. It was high, pitchy and warbling. It was the voice of a child. Not an ominpresent synthetic. Not herself. Not near. Hanabi. That was the name she'd been given, the name she was expected to at leaseuse in the prescence of the humans. The very thought made her blood-_she had blood!-_boil with fury. Biting back her anger, Near turned her back on the viewport. It was more difficult than it might have been a few hours earlier; the steep angles challenged her frail human ankles, threatening to snap them like green timber.

Capricious things, these human bodies.

She'd been reincarnated in this fleshy form, born from the memories of a _human _and her very being railed against it. She knew her power would return, with time. And when that time came, she would make the humans pay for their insolence. Adorable? Her? Preposterous! To think, she'd nearly crushed the woman, beneath her heel on Tuchanka!To think, she'd encountered opposition in the form of another, humanized reaper! To think...that reaper had been Sentinel.

She remembered her shock; because she hadn't been expecting to see Sentinel there. Harbinger had declared him dead several cycles ago. She'd accepted his passing as an inevitability; just as she'd accepted the once unacceptable demise of Sovereign three years prior to the invasion. She'd believed Harbinger then. But Harbinger had spoken falsely now. Sentinel was alive.

Alive and well.

She recalled his words back on Tuchanka, the defiant challenge as his indoctrinated mount crashed into her and tore her body apart. _How can a child like you hope to compare with someone like me? How can you even begin to comprehend my powr? _She'd bleated her fury back at him, searing him with fire and flame. She'd screamed back at him, a thin, planitive note of agony, as he tore the essence that was hers core from her shell and removed her from her body.

Her incredulousness at seeing him again had faded then, replaced by shock and horror as he transformed her into this...this...this abomination! No longer could she be called the epitome of synthetic life. Her body flesh and blood, her mind no longer her own, plagued by memories not her own. To make matters worse, she was not even remotely his equal! Though he too was flesh and blood, he stood leagues above her. Both his mind and power intact. And she...she...

To think she'd taken on human form!

She'd been poked and prodded by that salarian scientist, the alien muttering endlessly to himself as he performed countless experiments, conducted dozens of tests. In the end, when Near was deemed free to walk the halls of the Normandy, she'd made it very clearto the salarian that there would be no more "poking" nor "prodding" in the near future. She might be weakened by her transformation, but she remained quite capable off hand of ripping this starship from the space time continum and ending their lives in an eyeblink. Even now, as they were tasked with meeting an elite team of Krogan to "asses" this rachni threat. Hideous creatures, the rachni. Filthy insects Near had no desire to approach, let alone engage in combat. Because she hated bugs. Hated them. Yet another weakness that came with this female body. The irritational fear, of all things crawling upon the face of the earth.

Giant bugs_...Ew!_

She shuddered at the thought for a final time before returning to her observations. The turian was wary of her. As he should be. Most of the crew were as well. The asari seemed...curious? And then there was the other synthetic aboard this ship. EDI. Near had yet to meet this "EDI" but she found herself awaiting their inevitable meeting with...what did the humans call it? Excitement? That left the other amusing member of the crew, a remnant of a race long since thought to be extinct.

_Javik._

Near found the Prothean remotely interesting. The sole survivor of his race, consumed by rage and vengeance, now, forced to suffer the prescence of the creatures that killed his kin. She almost pitied him. Almost. The alien had tried to strangle her when they'd first met, thus rendering her pitiless. She'd beaten him into the ground. After that had come the combat drills. She'd been asked to submit to hand to hand combat with nearly every member of the Alliance personnel_-save for the one known as Vega-_and had bested them with ease. Indeed, the only entity on this ship whom she could not yet match was Sentinel. But that would come with time and patience. Unfortunately for the young reaper, both were in precious supply.

The next time she saw him she'd...

"Is there a problem with your operational efficiency?"

Near felt her cheeks burn_-yet another deffect of this foul, fleshy form!-_as Sentinel approached her. His blue eyes scanned her body, and, finding no defect present, continued on past her. Near lashed out, clawing at his sleeve with all of her strength. Or a lack thereof. She succeeded only in tugging at his arm, granting her a glimmer of his attention.

"Yes?" He asked, unperturbed by her anger; by the blazing coals smoldering up at him

"I detest you, Sentinel!" Near hissed, all of her anger, all her sadness, all her pent up emotions rising to the fore. "Harbinger was right about you! You've let yourself become like them! One of them!" The reaper said nothing and turned away. Near lashed out, seizing his sleeve and dragging him back to her. Rather she tried. Once again her feeble from failed her, her fingers serving only to impede his progress, not stop him. Fury roiled its way through her chest as she was dragged after him like a child; leaving him to rage at her own impotence.

"To think that you used to rule us!" she seethed. "That I used to look up to you!"

At last, her words evoked a reaction.

Sentinel bristled.

A muscle jumped in his jaw and his fists clenched at his sides. Before Near could register his rage, he rounded on her. Pain exploded through her body-such a strange sensation-as he slammed her up against the hull of the ship, wedging her frail from against the metal. Red eyes blazed like balefire upon her, pinnioning the young reaper with a gaze.

"I rule no longer." he hissed into her ear; his words were cold and intense. "Nor have I any desire to. You were a fool to believe Harbinger, to listen to his lies." She opened her mouth to speak, to refute his claims, and he slapped a palm over the orifiice. "Clear your thoughts, little one and think before you speak. Don't make me regret giving you a second chance." Near couldn't quite help herself. She shivered. What was this emotion she felt as she looked upon him? What this feeling of numbness, creeping through her chest? Organics had described it countless ways, countless times, but only now, here, in this fragile form did she finally understand the true horror of what they felt.

_Fear._

Near was afraid of Sentinel.

She was afraid of what he might do to her. She was weaker than him. He could crush her in an instant, snuff out her life in a heartbeat, were it his will. It was only his divine providence that permitted her continued life to exist within the soft shell of this human host. If he were to become angry at her now, to turn his wrath upon her...she wouldn't stand a chance.

_I would die._

The sudden realization that she was even considering himself weak brought a wave of rage to her mind with the ferocity of a great and dark tempest. Rage. Now that was an emotion to which she was familiar. Despite her creator's mercy towards her, Sentinel looking in her eyes, pleading for her to stop, the anger won over Near and she yanked her arm out of the reaper's gentle grip.

"Do not speak to me as such!" She shrieked as she stepped forward, preparing to attack once more. "You have no right! You abandoned us! You left us! You-

"Everything alright over here?"

Near jerked around as a voice interrupted her tirade. She instantly recognize the human, the musclebound man known as James Vega. She was in no mood to socialize.

"We-

"Everyone is functional." Naruto replied stiffly, cutting her off. "I trust you're well, Vega?"

"I've been through worse." The lieutenant winced as his ribs protested the lie. "Made it out with a few scrapes and bruises. You?"

Naruto's grin was only _slightly_ terrifying, Near mused.

"I discovered the joy of riding a mount."

"You mean Kalross?"

Naruto nodded.

"Dios!" The man swore in his native language. "That was you riding that thing? You're the one who took down that reaper?"

Another nod.

Near simmered quietly. She didn't need to be reminded of her failure.

"It put up a worthy fight." She put in lamely, cursing herself for the words as soon as they left her lips. Naruto and Vega glanced down at her, one with trepidation, the other, confusion.

"Hey, who's the kid?" Vega asked warily, noticing Near. "She the one everyone's been going on about, right? The one we picked up on Tuchanka?" Ah yes, that was the story. Not everyone was privvy to the fact that Near was part synthetic. Most were operating under the cover story that they'd picked he up on Tuchanka. Few knew the truth. Certainly not Vega, who'd yet to meet her until now. Who'd yet to _offend her,_ until now. Yet to lay a hand upon her...

"Nice to meet you, squirt.

_Until now._

"S-Squirt...?"

The last thing Near registered was Sentinel's swift step backward. Then, as she had many times before in the presence of commander Shepard, the young reaper saw red. Rage filled her again, crimson clouds, blurring and warping her vision until the room seemed at the bottom of a storm red sea; sweeping her along with its maddening current. How...HOW DARE HE! She heard Sentinel's word of caution, but she ignored them, all of her pent up frustration boiling up to the surface. Her fingers locked around the hand on her shoulder, closing like a vice around Vega's fingers.

_**"I am no child, you amorous baboon!"**_

Lieutenant James Vega was admitted to the medical ward shortly thereafter. suffering from a concussion, first degree burns, and what looked suspiciously like _bite marks_ adjourning the length of his now broken arm.

**A/N: I. RETURN! It's been awhile, guys and gals! I know its short, but I thought it apt to answer your questions as to whether Near/Hanabi would be in this fic. Consider this my answer! I'm not yet sure whether more human reapers will show up in this story, as that remains to This story is going to be a tale unlike any other, as I'm sure you've guessed by now. Thank you again for all of your support! This story wouldn't be what it was without all of your wonderful reviews! Gotta love humanized reapers, ne?**

**Grunt pops up next chappy! And we might even get to see Near/Hanabi's irrational fear of bugs...hurhurhur...**

**R&R! =D**


	6. ChAoS

**A/N: Its good to be back! I'm glad you're all enjoying the return of Sentinel! And to the the doubters, the nonbelievers, though who say that in all logic of the world that this fic cannot possibly happen, well, this is FICTION. Reality is meant to be bended, and at times broken. I've already done thus several times in this fic, and believe me, I intend to do it many more. I'm sorry I haven't updated this in so long! Terribly sorry! I've been so very busy with work, but now, here it is...**

**...the next chapter of Sentinel!**

_"SPIDERS! Oooh, why did it have to be spiders?!"_

_~Near._

**ChAoS**

Commander Isabelle Shepard exited the elevator feeling refreshed and whole. Sharing a shower with your alien lover did that to you. She smiled once more at the memory of her azure-skinned lover, her lips trailing oh so delicately across her flesh and her hands, oh her hands...those sensations were almost enough to make her turn around and go back for more. Almost, but not quite. There was work to be done, and while she would have loved nothing more than to lay in the captain's quarters with Liara for the rest of the day-or what equated to a day in space-she, as commander and captain of this vessel, had work to do. And her work began nigh as soon as she stepped out of the elevator.

"Idiot!" A familiar voice shouted, preceded by many curses in their native language. "Fool! Imbecile!"

Shepard certainly wasn't expecting...well, this. Indeed, what she saw nearly left her rooted in place.

As she stepped out of the elevator and onto the observation deck, she found two reapers glaring bloody red daggers at one another. Sentinel and Near, to be precise. The former was as ever garbed in his atypical metal carrapace, whereas the latter...well, she was not. Far from it, Near wore no clothing at all; t'was only her long hair and the larger synthetic's bulk that concealed her obscurely frail frame. The synthetics must've held an earlier conversation prior to her arrival; because as she neared the galaxy map, the little reaper girl loosed a defiant _blaaat;_ the reaper equivalent of blowing a raspberry.

"Absolutely not!" Sentinel snarled back, turning blue in the face. "I can't believe you'd think of such a thing!"

Near glowered up at him, her own wrath made impotent before those blazing blue orbs.

"And why not?"

"You cannot roam the halls naked!" Sentinel insisted, tripping over the words in his exasperation. "It...It disturbs the humans!"

"Let it disturb them!" Near snapped back. "I refuse to clothe myself merely on a whim!" She stood proudly, hands placed on her hips. Both human and reaper nearly face-vaulted at such an insensible statement but the latter t'was the one that finally spoke up about it. Shepard cleared her throat, struggling to suppress her own amusement as her crew looked on.

"Is there...a problem here?"

"Not at all." Naruto said. Before either, could react, he seized Near by the scruff of her neck, hoisting the smaller reaper into the air before she could hope to struggle. "We were just taking this one to get dressed." Near loosed an electronic bleat of surprise, little arms and legs flailing frantically as she was denied her footing. Too little, too late. Shepard would've found the situation funny were it not for their impending mission, and that possible reemergence of the rachni. But she knew better than to interfere with the two synthetics, especially when one was so... besotted with the other.

"See that you do." She barely managed to curtail her own smile. "We're going to be touching down soon."

"Understood commander." Sentinel raised a hand in lazy dismissal as he strode toward the elevator, slinging a sullen Near over his shoulder. The girl had since ceased her thrashing, now she was glaring pale daggers at Sentinel. She spat something at him in reaper tongue ;something not meant for human ears something no ordinary human should've been able to understand. Ah, but Commander Shepard was no ordinary human. She had ceased to be ordinary the moment she'd touched the Prothean beacon, all those years before. And so she heard the little one's words, clear as a clarion bell:

"You know this cannot last." Near's words were stark and arrogant; they stank of smugness. "Even _you_ cannot hold that form forever."

...I am prepared to accept the consequences of my actions." was Sentinel's blithe reply.

The elevator doors _wooshed_ shut then, trapping whatever else he might've said, leaving Shepard hopelessly in the dark. Sentinel was dying? No, that was nonsense. From what she'd seen of him the human protoreaper still had plenty of life left in him. Had Near said those things simple to

Tsking softly to herself, she approached the bridge. Who was she to think of such things? If those two had their secrets, they could keep them. So long as they didn't endanger the Normandy's crew or their mission, the two of them would be welcomed as allies. It was a helluva lot better than having them as enemies! She pondered the quandry a moment longer before a smooth feminine voice greeted her, jarring her from her thought on Reapers and their own mortality.

"Is everything alright, commander?" EDI regarded her curiously.

"Hmm?" Shepard blinked, drawn from her reverie by the synthetic's words. "No, everything's fine. Just thinking."

"Oh...

"Shepard, I have a question."

Inwardly, the commander blanched.

_Oh, this ought to be good..._

Outwardly, she arched an eyebrow.

"Ask away, EDI."

"Just now, Sentinel rebuked Near for not wearing clothing." The unshackled AI pointed out. "Until recently I also lacked a body, so the concept did not occur to me until this very moment." She touched a single finger to her chin, her eyes narrowed in thought. "Humans clothe themselves, yet we synthetics as a whole, do not. Why is this?" Shepard gave the matter some thought. Though a trivial matter to her, EDI was truly perlexed by the notion of hiding ones body in fabric.

"Well, when you think about it, most AI's don't have a body." she began slowly, immediately thrusting up a hand before the AI could protest. "Most, EDI. You're probably the first of your kind, outside the Geth."

"I am...not sure hot to interperet that, commander...

Ultimately, Joker saved the bacon.

"Would _you_ be afraid of the geth if they wore t-shirts and jeans?" he chortled softly. "I can just see it now," He feigned Legion's tone of voice and raised both hands over his head. "Fear me and my awesome l33t shirt!" When no one laughed, his face fell. "Well, I thought it was funny...

"I fail to see how they would present themselves as less than threatening, given their persecution." EDI replied, perplexed by her pilot's logic. "Attire does not matter if you have a weapon."

"Yeah, tell that to the Reapers."

"Sentinel wears clothing." EDI countered with a hint of smugness. "Does that make _him_ less threatening to you, Jeff?"

_Ouch._ Even Isabelle winced. _That was low, EDI. Nice, but low..._

Joker's brow turned stormy.

"Yeah well, he's-

-a special case." Shepard cut him off, glaring bloody red daggers at her pilot. She understood the man's dislike for reapers-at time she even shared it-but that was no reason to alienate the two synthetics onboard. "EDI if you want to wear clothes, that's perfectly alright. I won't stop you." An abrupt idea wriggled its way through her mind; if not a brilliant one, then merely for amusement. "In fact, that's an order. When I get back from this mission, I want you to wear something...anything, really. Surprise me."

EDI seemed a tad too delighted by her captain's order.

Shepard turned to leave.

"Oh, and EDI?" she whispered.

"Yes?"

"Make sure Joker doesn't see."

"Understood, commander."

This was going to be interesting...

* * *

><p>Shepard fought down the urge to smile as the shuttle touched down on the arid soil of Utukku. Against all odds, Naruto managed to drag Hanabi along with him. He claimed it would help to rehabilitate herself to all that she'd lost as well ass acclimitate to her new body. Near had no intention of doing either. Nay, the girl stood positively livid, standing stock still in the armor Naruto hand-picked out for her. In essence, he'd crammed the reaper child into a smaller version of his own attire, though her lavender carapace stood in starrk contrast to the mighty azure shell he currently wore. She bristled whenever someone mentioned it.<p>

"I abhor this." She said sullenly, arms crossed, folded petulant before her chest. "I absolutely abhor this."

"It's not so bad." Garrus chuckled, tousling her hair with three-fingered hand. "Hell, some might even say you look-

-if you say cute I solemnly swear to break every bone in your hand." Near deadpanned. Garrus flinched aside, reminded of her ferocity. Looking at Near, sulking like a sullen child, it was all too easy to forget what she was. Easy to fall for the guise But this was no child; not some creature of flesh and bone. Near was a reaper, same as the ones ravaging Palaven. The cruel twist of her lips merely confirmed hit.

Sentinel raised his shoulders in a nonchalant shrug.

"Surely it can't be that bad...

His words died away when he saw the krogan. It was young, but it still towered over him by a least a head's length. And then there was the whole muscle mass thing and that giant hump, sheathed in silver plated armor. "Shepard?" It shoved its way past its bretheren, with a laugh. "Heh! Shepard! Heh-ha-ha-ha-ha!" The great armored alien nearly knocked the commander off her feet, such was his glee. Near and Sentinel exchanged a glance. The krogan's enthusiasm reminded them of...what was the name of that four-legged animal again? Ah! A puppy. Sentinel chortled softly as he observed their reunion. It was amusing to equate the hulking bipedal lizard before him with the blind enthusiasm of a canine...

"What're you doing here Grunt?"

"I could ask you the same question!"The krogan slapped Isabelle on the back for a final time. "Didn't those idiots lock you up?"

"They did. Put me in lockdown to keep the batarians off me. Didn't want problems with the council while they prepared for war." A pause, a glance at the ruind landscape that surrounded them. "But the situation changed." If the krogan detected the sadness in her demeanor, he did not comment upon it.

"Yeah. They got bigger problems all right." A savage grin tore its way across the alien's face as he cast a glance back to his comrades. "It's why I'm out here, running Aralakh Company. They're tough, think they're invincible. Reckless, but effective."

"Sounds familiar." Isabelle grinned, a gorgeous streak of white against the blackness of her armor. "

"Heh." Another grin, even wider this time. "Glad you're here to crack some heads, Shepard. Hard to believe this might be the Rachni. Seems crazy. Still...the rachni!" Impossibly, the krogan's crazed grin only grew. "A chance to face the old enemy? Impossible to resist!"

"You would be wise to be wary of the Rachni." Near piped up on a sudden, suddenly. "They are a formidable species, one we should have exterminated at the outset."

"What?" The krogan growled, surprised by the new arrival. "Who's the kid, Shepard?"

"KID?!" Near all but seethed. "I am no child, you worthless little lizard! I was ancient when your species crawled out of the primordial muck you call a planet!"

"What was that?!"

Grunt stepped up, only to stop short and glower at the two of them, glaring at the pair of reapers through hooded reptilian slits. Near glared back, refusing to budge. Isabelle looked between the two and shrugged helplessly, knowing better than to come between a krogan and an almighty synthetic.

"What's with the kid?" Grunt asked bluntly.

"Ask me later."

"Whatever you say."

"Anyway, we don't know if rachni had anything to do with this." Shepard cautioned. "We're here to find the scouts. I didn't see any signs of activity during our approach."

"Agreed." Grunt nodded. "But this place smells wrong. Like a bad wound." He gauge the commander with a slitted iris. "Our scans show the tunnels down there lead to a large central point. If we're lucky its a nest.

"Sounds like fun." Garrus remarked, his fringe twitching in the human definition of a smile. "Just like old times eh, Grunt?"

"Heh."

"Aralakh Company-move out!"

"Grab what you need Shepard." Grunt was already moving, already following his troops. "Meet me at the scout camp ahead."

"Will do."

"Take what you need and move out."

* * *

><p>Scarce had they entered the cavern than they saw them. Great, bulbuous sacks of flesh, mounted on metallic legs, spindly wires wreathing them from head to toe; the better to carry and support the massive designed cannons on their shivering shoulders. There could be no mistaking them for what they were, even to the most innocent of eyes. One of them froze. Pale eyes bulged so large, he was certain they were going to fall right out of her heard. He wisely shut off all his auditory functions even as Near opened her mouth.<p>

Hanabi let out a scream that could wake the dead.

"SPIDERS!" Near squealed, scrambling back from the mutated ravagers. "Spiders spiders SPIDERS! Why does it have to be spiders!" In her haste to escape the foul creatures, she clamored atop Sentinel, the clinging to his back in a strange parody of a piggyback ride. The reaper uttered an oath that made her blood curl and rounded on the creature, his hand cannon flaring to epic proportions. _Blam!_ He fired once, twice, three times in a rapid succession, the particle cannon searing through the horde of husks and ravagers.

"Kill it!" Near screamed all the while, her voice rising in pitch as she clamored every higher onto his shoulders. "Kill it kill it kill it KILL! IT!" Sentinel continued to fire regardlessly, tearing a swathe of destruction through the horde of reaper creatures, uncaring as Shepard and Garrus joined the firefight. Within seconds the last of forces had been crushed; the rest reduced to a pool of molten slag. Sentinel ejected the cores from his arms and slotted in a new one for each, pausing to take in a breath. Blinking, he restored sound to his ears.

-dead yet?" Near was still whimpering from where she clung to his shoulder. Naruto refused to honour with a response; instead choosing to pick amongst the dead for anything else useful, despite having nearly suffered such a fate once himself. Shepard sweatdropped at the sight. Not at the destruction-she'd grown painfully used to that-but the terrified girl still clinging to his shoulders. That was something new. Gone was the cold and uncaring synthetic; in her place was a frightened little girl. Shepard almost felt sorry for her. Almost. After being sent to the medical pay she was unsurpisingly devoid of pity at the moment.

"You're afraid of spiders?" Isabelle feigned surprise. "I thought synthetics feared nothing."

"Silence!" Near shrieked! I will not tolerate this disrespect!"

"I think you missed one." Garrus pointed out, sticking one of the corpses with a booted foot.

Near froze, suddenly a little girl again.

"Where?!" She cried, clamoring onto Naruto's helmet when one of the ravagers stirred. "Ohmygoshkillit! KILL IT WITH FIRE!"

Isabelle couldn't help it after that.

Despite herself; despite the gravity of the situation, despite the thousands upon thousands of mutated reaper creatures that were surely milling about in the catacombs ahead, Shepard snickered. It started softly at the very first; little more than an amused chortle building in her breast. It was almost laughable. No, it was laughabe! The great and mighty reaper, afraid of an insect! The longer Shepard contemplated about it, the harder she laughed. Before long Garrus had joined her, leaving the reapers in sullen silence.

"What's so funny?!" Near snarled, still clinging to Naruto. "I demand you cease this insufferable amusement at once!"

"Spider!" Shepard exclaimed, thrusting a finger over her shoulder!

Near screamed!

"GAH?!"

Sentinel sighed.

This was going to be a looong mission...

* * *

><p><strong>AN:Alright, lets go easy on Near. She's still scornful of everyone. She'll soften up...in time. And for anyone who seems to dislike this story, remember is extremely AU and meant to be enjoyable, so I apologize if the human reaper concept upsets you. Is Naruto dying? I'll remain mum on that point. Will we see other human reapers? Unlikely. At the most we'll get to see only a handful, any more than SEVEN is far too many for my liking. As for why Naruto/Sentinel made Near/Hanabi assume human form in the first place. As one reviewer pointed out, yes, it was to show her what the sensation of humanity is like. Only...Near doesn't seem to like it so much! Sadly, the amusing tone is about to take an abrupt dive, as *SPOILER* a tragedy takes place next chapter. I'll not say to whom!**

**This story is going to be a tale unlike any other, as I'm sure you've guessed by now. Thank you again for all of your support! This story wouldn't be what it was without all of your wonderful reviews! Alright, now that I have five minutes left, I've got to get to work once more, so in the immortal words of Atlas...**

**...Review, would you kindly?**

**R&R! =D**


	7. Fear not the Flame

**A/N: Its good to be back! I'm glad you're all enjoying the return of Sentinel! And to the the doubters, the nonbelievers, though who say that in all logic of the world that this fic cannot possibly happen, well, this is FICTION. Reality is meant to be bended, and at times broken. I've already done thus several times in this fic, and believe me, I intend to do it many more. I'm sorry I haven't updated this in so long! Terribly sorry! I've been so very busy with work, but now, here it is...**

**...the next chapter of Sentinel!**

_"Vengeance is mine, you filthy creatures!"_

_~Near._

**Fear not the Flame**

_"Vengeance is mine, you filthy creatures!"_

Garrus Vakarian had seen many a terror in his day, but nothing could_-or would-_ever compared to this crazed little girl wielding the flamethrower. He silently made a note never to bring up spiders in her prescence, ever again. His armour wouldn't do him much good if he was charred to a crisp...

"Commander...

Shepard had chosen to give the little reaper a _wide_ berth after they'd discovered the heavy weapons in the catacombs. Fortunately for them_-unfortunately for the rachni-_those heavy weapons were _flamethrowers._ Now, gone was the petrified little girl. In her place stood an avenging goddess of death and destruction, sheathing the tunnels in fire and flame with each pull of the trigger. Ravagers and husks alike fled from her wrath; not because she was a reaper, nor out of fright, but sheer _terror_ of this evil little girl!

"Mwahahahaha!" She cackled, spewing flame as she ran. "Fear me lesser creatures for I have _fire! **FEAR ME!"**_

"She _does_ know she's going to run out of ammunition eventuallly, right?" He whispered, nudging Sentinel aside. The elder reaper had proven to be a great deal more amicable of late; certainly moreso than the cackling child wreaking havoc around their ears.

Sentinel shrugged.

"That is not my concern." The synthetic sighed. "Although...

_"Although?"_

A tiny smile broke out on his chiseled face, like a crack etching along a stone surface.

"I am pleased to see that she is enjoying herself."

Garrus blanched.

"If you call that enjoyment...

Naruto shot him a sharp look.

"Is it so strange that I would derive amusement from watching her enjoyment?" Without waiting for Garrus's response, he turned his attention back to Near. "I gave her flesh and form for a purpose, Vakarian. You think my kind to be mere machines like Sovereign; harbingers or your destruction. This is not so. We were created for the sole purpose of exterminating sentient life from the cosmos. But as I have told you we are each more than the sum our parts; each a nation, independent of weakness. Is it so surprising to think some like myself might've grown weary of this endless cycle? Of this endless pain and hatred? Perhaps once Near realizes this once she understands you and _your_ kind mean her no harm, she too, will feel the same."

"You're betting an awful lot on some misconception, there." the scarred Turian frowned

The proto-reaper waggled an eyebrow in answerment.

"Sh!" Shepard hushed the turian and reaper. "Both of you! I want to _watch."_

Near was still laughing when the flamethrower abruptly sputtered, and died. She spat a curse and squeezed the trigger, but all that emerged a soft, despairing slick. Slowly, ever so slowly the ravager horde turned, regarding the now impotent child those with eerie intensity. Recognizing at last the gravity of the situation, the child-like reaper took a small step backward. It was a mistake. Scarce had she stepped back, than the throng of mutants came surging _forward._ Shepard swore, raising the barrel of her rifle to fire-

Sentinel was already there. Even as her first shot rang through the cavern the godlike synthetic had moved past her, throwing himself, before his fellow synthetic with a speed improbable even for the most advanced of his kind. In one swift movement he reached down, plucking Near from the ground, slinging her onto a broad shoulder. Near uttered a supersonic squeal of surprise but she made no effort to dissuade her comrade as he raised the barrel of his arm cannon and brought it to bear on the slavering throng before them.

"Down!" He shouted, and then there was only hellfire.

The cavern shook as red light erupted from his arm, searing across the gaggle of grotesque creatures, rattle the walls and the ceiling alike. Smoke and dust kicked up, spattering the squad's helmets and armor. When it finally cleared, Shepard half-expected an open path to stretch out before them. To her complete and utter dismay, she found even more ravagers and reaper creatures, crawling out of the woodwork; worming their way through the hole Sentinel had wrought in the middle of the cavern. There were...more of them than she'd expected. Hundreds. Thousands. They couldn't possibly fight this many!

"S-S-SPIDER!" Near yelped as one of the smaller creatures fell from the ceiling onto her back; eliciting complete and utter panic. Dropping the now empty flamethrower, she clamored onto Sentinel's back; latching onto him like a spider monkey crawling atop his shoulders as the horde encroached still further. "SPIDERS! More spiders! Get them off! Get them off get them off get them off!" Naruto rounded on the nearest wall and swung outward with his fist, shattering the hardened rock to reveal the passage beyond.

"Shepard!" Grunt's voice crackled through the comlink. "What the hell was that?!"

"That was our...friend." Isabelle grimaced as Naruto brought the barrel to bear upon the gaping hole. "Stay where you are!" She shouted over the rising thrum of the weapon. "Its about to get hot!"

A low hiss left the lips of the synthesized organic as he saw still more of the creatures at their backs. He placed one foot into the opening he'd created and fired for a second time, causing the cavern itself to shudder, as though it were a creature of the living. Somewhere in the distance, something screamed. Naruto exchanged a glance with Shepard, his smoldering arm assuming human form once more. Near gibbered something about spiders and the tunnels trembled yet again, eliciting a worried retort from Garrus.

"Shepard...

"What?"

_"I think now would be a good time to run!"_

And thus, they ran, delving into the opening Sentinel had created...

_...into the heart of darkness itself._

**A/N:Alright, don't kill me! The tragedy takes place NEXT chappy. This one is purely filler! Belive me, you're going to appreciate this happy little chap when you find out what happens next chapter; that tragedy that takes place? It isn't going to pretty, to say the least. Hopefully ya'll won't come after me with torches and pitchforks... Only I **

**This story is going to be a tale unlike any other, as I'm sure you've guessed by now. Thank you again for all of your support! This story wouldn't be what it was without all of your wonderful reviews! Alright, now that I have five minutes left, I've got to get to work once more, so in the immortal words of Atlas...**

**...Review, would you kindly?**

**I'll even provide a *may or may not* preview of a scene coming up in distant chapters...**

**Preview:**

_This time Shepard thought she was prepared when Sentinel reformatted the reaper core. She was not. Light streamed across every inch of the cargo hold, blinding her to all else. When it finally settled she found herself looking at what might've been an older version of Near/Hanabi...assuming her body would grow someday. Pale eyes flashed with fury, a heartshaped face framed by blure hair so dark it was nearly midnight black. Their eyes locked, Sentinel's and that of the woman standing across from him._

_The woman yowled in surprise, a string of alien garble leaving her lips. Incredibly, Isabelle understood every word of it. Unlike Hanabi's birth she could comprehend everything words, syllables, and even the tone of the woman's voice as she looked frantically from her self to the one who had created her._

_"What have you done?" She stepped forward, eyes accusing. "What. Have. You. Done!"_

_"I have restored you." Sentinel responded, flatly._

_The woman slapped him. _

_Hard._

_"You have not restored!" The woman snapped, her soft face twisted into a sneer of derision. "You have sullied! Why have you given me this form?!"_

_"Commander this one calls itself Far." Naruto introduced, ignoring the woman's hiss of exasperation, continuing unabated as she spat obscenities._

_The woman slapped him again._

_"Ah." He blinked, as though he'd only just remembered something, as if the blow had knock the knowledge loose. "Ah. This one was called Hinata. She was also the wife of this unit when he was human."_

_"Wait, so she's your wife?" Shepard exclaimed._

_"Was." Naruto began, but a soft click interrupted him._

_Far had leveled the long barrel of her now armed arm at her fellow synthetic-shepard distantly recognized it as some sort of sniperesque weapon-and now, to Shepard's horror she pulled the trigger._

_"Die." She hissed..._

_...and Sentinel's head exploded._

**Le gasp! Is Sentinel dead?!**

**R&R! =D**


	8. Losses

**A/N: Geh! It took me FOREVER to get this going again! But at long last, here it is! Ladies and gentlemen, I proudly present you with...**

**...the next chapter of Sentinel!**

_"A great man once told me, the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. And now in my final hours, I see the wisdom of his words. I understand them all too clear."_

_~Sentinel._

**Loss**

_"Impudence!"_

Shepard blanched as they hurtled down the tunnel; as the human protoreaper known as Sentinel ripped through yet another ravager barring their path; obliterating the mutant with one swing of his arm. But it was not he who had spoken. Quite the contrary. Although Near still clung to his shoulders like a frightened child, _she_ was not above cursing the enemy; spouting obscenities at the twisted creatures as they swept past. Sentinel for the most part, had fallen stoically silent. Not that there was any room for banter mind you, fleeing as they were from the horde of mutated rachni the spray of gunfire peppering their heels.

Try telling that to Near.

"Feeble creatures!" The child-like synthetic cackled gleefully, peppering the reaper creatures with insults and the occasional bullet s they bounded around the corner. "You dare to strike against the likes of us? Die for it, and your impudence! _DIE I SAY!"_ She punctuated her commands with a well-placed round in a marauder's skull, sending the deformed turian toppling over into his comrades. Withering fire from Garrus and his rifle sent a handful of its kin to join them, buying the team a few precious seconds; seconds they used to distance themselves from the and then they were gone, hurtling down the corridor

She was dimly aware of the sound of additional gunfire trickling through her headset; evidently Grunt's squad had also encountered heavy resistance. And, unlike Shepard, he didn't have a pair of hybrid reapers handy to bail him out of trouble. The harsh crunch of a shotgun detonated in her ear; she wasn't sure if it was her former squadmate or one of the members of Arhlak Company.

"We're getting swarmed here, Shepard!" Grunt's voice was like flint in her ear, "Any ideas?!"

"I'm open to suggestions!" Isabelle snapped back, casting a scathing glare at their surroundings, as though by doing so she could somehow produce a miracle. Thankfully, she didn't have to.

She had a reaper.

Shepard glimpsed a pair of flamethrowers as they pounded down the hall; as if sharing her thought, Sentinel abruptly skidded to a halt, the motion dislodging Near from his shoulders with a sqwuak of surprise. Without so much as a backward glance at his compatriot the reaper flung himself forward lunging to retrieve the heavy weapons, his scarred fingers wrapping around them, one for each hand. There came a satisfying _click-click-click_ as his hands merged with what he stubbornly referred to as primitive tech, amplifying the arms to a level hereito unseen by humanity.

"How do I not have one of those?" Garrus groused as he beheld the flawles reaper tech.

"Because _you_ belong to a band of primitives." Near replied smugly. "You should be grateful we even deign to work with you at all, turian!"

"Now now, they can't help the fact that they're less advanced than us, Near." Bringing them to bear with a grin that was just a tad too human for Shepard's tastes, the godlike synthetic permitted himself a small chortle of black amusement. "Maybe in the next cycle, ya know?" By the time he'd finished speaking the reaper horde was nearly upon them; fangs bared, amrs sretched to claw out their throat. Shepard half-expected Sentinel to unleash hell in that very instant. But the reaper did not fire. Shepard frowned, edging back toward the wall.

"Sentinel, maybe you should..."

And _still_ the reaper waited.

"Godamnit, just shoot already!"

She could've sworn the reaper winked.

_"With pleasure."_

Naruto didn't so much as bat an eyelash as he pulled the triggers. There was a soft click, a resounding _whoosh_ of flame and the reapers perished. They simply ceased to be. There could be no further elaboration for the wall of heat and flame, roaring over the enemy forces in a smoldering wave of fire and flame. Those at the forefront of the hord simply disintegrated; those toward the rear suffered burns so catastrophic, not even their own reaper synthetics could hope to endure it. As one they toppled backwars, shields failing, bodies burning. Shepard watched them fall, deafened by the sudden silence in the cavern.

Naruto discarded the charred husks of the flamethrowers with a grunt of satisfaction; the weapons now lay ravaged by their intense energies used to fuel the destruction that wreathed the cavern. Isabelle could see the wires peeking out beneath his arms as he bent to retrieve Near; once more she was reminded of the terror lurking beneath what appeared to be a handsome young man.

"Do not drop me in such a fashion, Sentinel!" The younger reaper was snarling as she reclaimed her now-customary place upon his shoulder. "You are required to provide this unit with proper warning next time!"

Sentinel surprised them, then. He laughed. It was a deep, throaty sound. Bitter, yet filled with mirth.

"Try to hold on next time."

"There will be no next time!" Near puffed her cheeks in childlike indignation, "Because you will _not_ drop me!"

"Hai hai," Naruto chortled softly as he bent to strip a nearby corpse of ammunition. "I'll _try_ not to drop you when I save the universe."

"When 'you' save the universe?" Shepard couldn't help herself; she bristled at the arrogance in the synthetic's tone.

"Yes, I." Naruto responded in kind. "I intend to make my kind see the error of their ways, so that they might cease"

"We need to destroy them!" Shepard couldn't believe what she was hearing! "That's the only way to end the cycle!"

"Destroy is but a single option, one chosen by the ignorant." the blond whispered and just like that he was Sentinel again: the cold, unfeeling synthetic. "If you presume to simply wipe all synthetic life from the cosmos merely out of fear, then it would appear I may have underestimated you, my dear commander." His gaze slipped to Near; his fellow reaper had yet to speak, but her stoney silence spoke volumes. "Do you intend to try and end us as welll, once we've exceeded our usefulness as well?"

His words rooted her. She hadn't meant to...she didn't intend to-

"I didn't mean-

Too little, too late, A muscle jumped in Naruto's jaw; it was clear he wanted no more of this conversation.

"Perhaps we should move on, _Commander?"_

"Perhaps we should." Shepard grumbled blackly. Honestly, he could be so insufferable sometimes! She wished he would just drop dead!

Everything happened so suddenly. There was nothing she could've done.

Sentinel was just beginning to turn, his gaze slowly slipping away from the charred husks to the cavern ahead, when a marauder rose from the ashes. Its photoreceptors flickered between the four of them, as though it were deciding who it ought to shoot. Abruptly, its gaze fixated upon the least prepared of the party. Sentinel. Shepard bristled in anticipation, bringing her gun to bear, a word of warning warping on her lips but slowly, far too slowly. Even as her finger tightened on the trigger, she knew there was nothing to be done. Near was still speaking, either utterly unaware of the impending threat or, having deemed it to be beneath her notice, paid it no mind.

The marauder stood woodenly, not taking enough care, leveled its gun and fired a burst at the back of the reaper's unprotected head. The first shot veered wide, searing across the blonde's cheek but the second-oh the second-struck the synthetic squarely behind his right ear, slamming into his skull, just as he began to turn in recognition of the supposed threat. Through and through the round went, exploding out the other side of the man's head in a spatter of brains and wires and gore.

Naruto staggered, the blow knocking the now blood-soaked Near from her precarious perch upon his shoulder.

_"Nnrgh!"_

The wound spat sparks and wept blood and for a terrifying moment, Shepard watched the synthetic swoon; his eyes turning glassy, his knees buckling beneath an unseen weight. But he would be alright, she reassured herself. Surely. The wound would simply slither shut, as it had back on Tuchanka, as it had always done.

It did not.

Naruto slumped forwad without so much as a sound, his eyes going glassy, his body turning limp as he struck the ground, his head-what was left of it-lolling dangerously askew. For a long moment, everything was still and silent. No one dared speak; none dared breathe. Even the Marauder seemed flabbergasted, as though it could not believe it had felled the mighty reaper with a single shot. Yet it had. With one shot it had managed to fell possibly the most powerful synthetic hybrid in all of existence. But it had failed to recognize one crucial fact:

There was another reaper present.

Near _keened_ in despair; a terrifying shriek of pure, undiluted fury as she lurched to her feet. But unlike Shepard, she did not remain motionless. She swept forward like a human hurricane, her body scarcely more than a blur of white and black, as she barreled into the marauder, sweeping it from its feet. Her hair whipped around her like a thing alive; the raven tresses standing on end as she pummeled the marauder with her feeble-looking fists, a feat seemingly impossible for one of her size, but one into which she threw her whole heart.

_"You!"_ She yowled tearing at the mutated turian in a maddened frenzyof arms and legs, "You you you you you!" For one so small, she certainly held her own; driving the husk down with powerful blows that cracked the earth and split the soil whenever they struck, which was painfully often.

"Shouldn't we...um...help her?" Garrus asked.

Shepard had the succinct feeling they'd end up as smears on the walls if they tried to lend the young reaper any sort of aid. Within good reason! Near was now well beyond the point of consolation; tearing great chunks of the marauder apart, flinging them aside like they were so much refuse. Instead she turned her attention Sentinel-to the blood pooling beneath his body. He couldn't be dead. He just couldn't. Not after all he'd said an done. Not here. Not after he'd saved Mordin. Not after he'd helped her cure the genophage. _No._ Not here. Not now. He didn't deserve an end like this. No one did.

_"Shepard! We're being overrun!"_

Isabelle could hear Grunt's voice crackling in her ear, feel Garrus's hand on her shoulder, shaking her, trying to rouse her to action, but that was all; she couldn't make head or tails of what they were saying. A red haze draped itself across her vision; it might've been her crimson-gold hair. It could've been the blood. Perhaps it was the all encompassing fury, boiling in her veins. Fury at herself. At fate.

For taking him away.

She pulled Naruto's head into her lap, ran her hand through his hair, uncaring for the blood as it stained her armor. She gently closed his eyes for him, fingers pushing down the deadened lids in a vain effort to give him some sentiment of peace. She wasn't quite sure when the tears came, only, that they did. She shouldn't be crying. She was a veteran of Akuze! She'd witnesed horrors that would've broken the minds of lesser men and women, and lived to tell the tale. And yet the sight of this broken hybrid at her feet stirred such sympahty in her, she couldn't help _but_ to weep. Her last words to him had been bitter; spawned by their disagreement as to what should be done; how the war should be won. She'd been thoughtless; never once pausing to consider that the destruction of the reapers meant the destruction of Sentinel and Near as well.

"I'm sorry." she whispered, chanting the words like a mantra, as though she could somehow bring him back from the brink through words alone. "I'm so sorry...

Numb, she could only sit there, stroking his hair.

Not like this.

**"DIIIIIIIIIIE!"**

A bleat of fury returned her attention the one-side battle taking place at her back.

Near's left arm was suddenly gone, replaced by a long, slender barrel not asimilair to the hulking canon sentinel wielded, only smaller. As Shepard looked on that very same barrel unfolded, exposing a pinprick of red light, lurking at the very. Tears streaming down her cheeks let loose a shriek of fury and jammed the barrel of her elongated weapon beneath the marauder's chin, forcing the jagged tip deep beneath the husk's skull, where it would surely sear the deadly lance of ruby red radiance deep into its cranium-

"Comman...der."

Shepard's head snapped back and forth; a puppet severed from its strings.

Sentinel had just spoken.

"Spirits!" Garrus exclaimed in disbelief, seeing now what Shepard had yet to see. "That...that shouldn't be possible."

Because Sentinel's eye weren't closed. Not anymore.

Nay, his eyes were open, no longer gazing blankly ahead at nothing, but rather, at her. Shepard couldn't help herself. Her brow furrowed in disbelief; mouth working wordlessly, struggling to form syllables that refused to come. He was alive! Despite the gaping hole in his head, despite the massive amount of trauma his body must've been suffering, he still had the wherewithall to smile. His broken fingers reached up to cup her cheek for a moment, cradling her face as though it were made of the finest china.

"Did you really think...you'd be rid of me that easily?" he scoffed.

Shepard might've been mute; because she couldn't bring herself to speak as the reaper dragged himself upright.

"Y-You're...

"Alive?" he replied, nonplussed. "So it would seem. Now, if you'll excuse me...

Sentinel staggered to his feet and bleated a deafening bass note of sheer agony; it might've been a cry of surprise. Perhaps pain. Whatever it was, it froze Near in her tracks. With a small cry of surprise, she vaulted off of the marauder. And not a moment too soon. With a deafening roar that could make a krogan batttlemaster quiver with fear, the reaper rounded on the unfortunate husk, closing the distance between them in the span of two beats or less, his swift, jerky stride eating up the distance between them.

Before the creature could attempt to squeeze off another shot, the _reaper _reached for _him._ Fingers closed around the probuscis that served as its skull, hoisting it high off the ground. Sentinel's lips parted, but no words emerged at first; the faintest hiss of anger squeezed through his clenched teeth. Finally, he spoke.

"Listen well, Harbinger." his words were flat as he spoke to the marauder; monotone, devoid of any and all emotion. "I know you can hear me. If you wish to extinguish me_...do so yourself!"_

A swift squeeze rendered what remained of the marauder nonfunctional, its skull crumbling beneath the reaper's wrath. And still Naruto did not release the reaperfied turian, his hands locking around the remains of the creature's chest, driving through the mesh of twisted wire and organics, plunging through the grisly carapace to pluck out what served as its heart. Only then did he release his victim; only then did he allow the reapers puppet to crumble to the ground in a heap of ashes. He flicked them away without a thought, uncaring as they billowed across the cavern.

"Are you alright?"

Naruto touched a hand to his head, seemingly ignorant of the gaping hole there. Near took a step toward him, froze. _Froze,_ as his irises flickered for the span of two beats; blue, then crimson, then black, before finally fading to the former. He straightened with an effort, still holding Crimson vitae seeped through his fingers, the wound closing slowly-reluctantly-at his touch. Near bristled visibly at the sight of his injury, but if she was at all relieved by the sudden resusitation of her comrade, she did precious little to show it.

"You survived." She muttered, folding both arms before her chest.

To his credit, Naruto managed a wan smile.

"I am...fully functional."

"After getting half your brain blown out your ear." Garrus deadpanned.

"Yes."

Something in that gaze forestalled any attempt at arguement. Tsking softly, Shepard turned on her comm.

"Grunt, you there?"

There was only silence over the radio. "Grunt?" No response. Shepard's third attempt was met with static. Her heart dropped into her stomach. No. Oh god, no! She touched a hand to her headset again, but there was only static. Gone was the sound of gunfire, the cries of battle, the shriek of reaper blood being spilled. There was only silence. And over that silence, she could hear the chittering of ravagers, the muffled grunts of both brutes and marauders alike.

"Grunt! Do you read!" She shouted, daring to make herself heard over the silence. "Come in, Grunt! GRUNT!"

"Grab whatever ammo you can find." Shepard commanded, her anger rising to the fore as she slapped a fresh thermal clip into her shotgun. No. She would not lose anyone. Anyone! "We move in three!" Both Near and Sentinel exchanged a terse glance between them, but complied nonetheless. Garrus simply shouldered his rifle and unfolded a sniper rifle.

"Ready whenever you are, Shepard."

"Let's move people!"

And then, there was only silence.

Deadly, bonechilling silence as they descended into the darkness...

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Aaaaand there you have it. I _did_ warn you that something bad would happen in this chapter, and lo and behold, we've lost someone. Sorry folks, but this is a war, after all. Shepard and co. WILL win...it just won't be on a field of rainbows and daisies. There will be loses. But there was some happiness and confusion there, o soften the blow at the end. Also, I finally managed to get my hands on Citadel DLC got some major ideas from that. I have plans to incorporate the other two major DLC as well, Omega and Leviathan. It'll be interesting, to say the least! I also think I'd might include EDI in this pairing, after all...**

**Additionally, after some thought on the possible preview I presented yall with last chappy, I've come to a decision; Hinata won't show up in this fic as a reaper. It seems kind of biased to me that another synthetic assume the form of a Hyuuga, when we already have Near. Cerberus invasion of the citadel comes up next! Will Thane live or will he die?**

**Don't worry, it'll be a surprise!**

**This story is going to be a tale unlike any other, as I'm sure you've guessed by now. Thank you again for all of your support! This story wouldn't be what it was without all of your wonderful reviews! Alright, now that I have five minutes left, I've got to get to work once more, so in the immortal words of Atlas...**

**...Review, would you kindly? **

_**Hope you enjoyed! R&R! =D**_


	9. EmPaThY

**A/N: Geh! It took me FOREVER to get this story back on track, and here I am! I've been on an maddening updating frenzy of late-so I've decided once more to return my attention my favorite Mass Effect stories and crossovers! If you're feeling out of touch, feel free to reread the last few chaptes and remember where we are. I promise it won't kill you. That aside, no long author's note this time, as we jump right back into the thick of things, as we set sail once more, into the epic story of...**

**...SENTINEL!**

_"A good man will lay down his life for a friend. A great man will lay his life down for anyone and everyone."_

_~?_

**EmPaThY**

_"Sil...ence..._

Naruto stared up at the rachni queen, his face grim, visage a rictus of impassable disbelief and confusion. Shepard didn't blame him. The Queen was just as massive as she remembered, her voice issuing forth from the many mouths of the dead krogan littering the cavern. It was an eerie sight; were the poor creatures not already dead, she would've shot them on sight. No living creature deserved to be controlled. No matter how just the reason might be or how sound it might seem, even if they were at all unwilling. That the queen needed these dead bodies to convey her words was understandable, but still...

"Spirits," Garrus murmurred. "Never thought I'd see this again...

Naruto seemed inclined to agree.

"It is times such as these that I am reminded of the disadvantages of human form." he murmurred. Again, Isabelle didn't blame him. For all his synthetic parts, there was still a human somewhere inside that reaper, all gravel and grit though he might be, it was in instances such as this that she was reminded. Perhaps the same could be said of Near...eventually. But for now, the little reaper said nothing, her lavender eyes narrow and intent upon the quivering form of the Queen.

_"The...maddening sour note has ceased."_

"What are you?" Shepard suspected, but she had to know.

_"The last queen. We listen for the children...they are silent. Hollow._ _The machines come and taken them to war. They die alone. Silent. Far away."_

"The reapers did this to you?" Obvious, that. Out of the corner of her eye, Naruto cringed.

_"Yes." _the queen replied._ "The sour note of the machines is everywhere."_

But how had they done it? Had not the Queen done as she'd said?

"I let you go back on Noveria." Isablle found herself recounting their earlier rejoinder, years before. "You promised not to interfere anymore. The rachni were supposed to disappear."

The Queen tittered softly, her massive head inclining in subservience.

_"Yes, we remember. We kept our promise. Retreated back through the relay. We started a new home. Beautiful children. Harmony. But...the macines came. They heard our song! Their shriek of sour notes drowned us out!"_

Shepard's heart went out to the poor creature. There could be no faulting the pain its words. "They cant hurt you anymore." she soothed it.

_"Yes, we...understand."_

"Can you still feel the Reapers?" Garrus, ever pragmatic, was the next to inquire. "Can they influence you?"

_"We hear the machines, but they cannot control us. Remove this last shackle, and we are free."_ A dull rumble, interrupted her words, causing the very cavern itself to quake_. "What?" _she raised her eyes, insectoid eyes bulging as thin fissures began to form upon the roof above._ "The children return. They will destroy us all. Release us!"_

"Are you capable of fighting the Reapers?"

_"We hate the machines. We will fight for our unborn children. RELEASE US!"_

"We should kill it." Near interjected, her pale eyes regarding the queen with scorn. "Such a being is weak. Useless."

"No!" Shepard flung up her hand in exasperation, grabbing the little Reaper by the arm. "No shooting! Why do you always want to shoot first and ask questions later?!"

Reaper and human exchanged a terse glance, the latter offered only a cold smile.

"Whyever not?" she replied. "Whatever assistance she could render is practically nonexistent-

"I have a better idea."

Sentinel stepped forward and before anyone could think to stop him, thrust a hand into the shackle, shattering it. The Rachni Queen dropped to the floor with a paind squeal, her massive head swiveling almost instantly to fixate upon that of her rescuer.

_"You are of the Machines...and yet...you release us?"_ The Queen was baffled, and rightfully so. "_Why? We do not understand."_

"There is no need to understand." The blonde replied, his blue eyes betraying nothing. "I am no longer of the machines. I am merely Sentinel. Now, I think its high time we left this ugly mudball behind us."

"She's badly hurt," Garrus confirmed her worst fears with a thought. "Someone will need to buy her time to escape."

Shepard froze. Grunt was gone. His team was gone. There was no one to do such a thing. No one to-

"That someone shall be me."

"What?! No!" the words ripped from Near's throat before Shepard could think to speak them. "You will not! You shall not! I refuse to let you-

The reaper struck down hard with his hand, the sudden strike rendering the smaller one insensate. For all her powers her body was still flesh, and as such, had the weaknesses of one. His blow to her neck proved more than capable of sending the youngling spiraling into sleep, her last words trailing off into unintelligible gibbberish. He proferred her to Garuss without a word.

"The shuttle's down that path." he indicated the nearby exit. "I'll hold them off. Get out of here, Shepard."

"But you can't."

"Shepard." he spoke, his words deadly soft. "I can and I will. Goodbye."

Before anyone could stop him, he flung himself over the ledge and out of sight.

* * *

><p>In hindsight, facing thousands upon <em>thousands <em>of mutated rachni alone wasn't Sentinel's wisest decision. He'd realized this long before he witnessed the sheer scope of the swarm roiling down the corridors to greet him, eager to do their master's bidding and end the only significant threat couldn't control them either, Harbinger had seen to that. It would not work, and any attempt on his part to do so would be wasted. Using his armed arm cannon was certainly an option, but in doing he risked bringing the entire cavern down on his head, something he and Near could certainly survive, but the fleshy organics could not.

That left his hands. And what little ammunition he had left in the rifle. Unpleasant circumstances to say the least. Sighing, the reaper cocked his shotgun, feeling the cartridge click into place with a heavy _ba-dump._ And with that he started forward, his long stride eating up the distance between him and the horde. It suddenly ocurred to him that this might be his last stand-he might very well die here without every achieving the dream he and his host had set out to create and accomplish together. The three factors that had led to their unlikely union in the first place.

Peace.

In another life, he wouldn't have even given the matter a second thought; damn the organics to hell. His survival was paramount. But now...he just couldn't bring himself to ignore it. It was almost laughable. No, it was laughable. That he, an entity formerly bent on the destruction of all sentient life, should now be so fixated upon saving it.

Life.

There could be no such thing so long as Harbinger retained control. Victory and Triumph aside could be swayed perhaps, but not him. His continued existence guaranteed conflict-once he was taken out of the picture his fellows would fall by the wayside. Assuming such a thing could be done. Near certainly wasn't capable of it, she was far too young-far too conflicted, only several cycles old. No, Sentinel decided, as the first of the many rachni opened fire, the task would ultimately fall to him. Not Shepard, not Garruss, not Liara, not even EDI herself. It was all up to him.

Prosperity.

Perhaps if he survived this, he would have that. Perhaps...

He cringed as the krogan shotgun kicked against his chest, its final round shearing through the carapce of an unfortunate ravager. The chamber clicked empty and then the weapon was no longer his, flung backward in a devastating arc to strike an unfortunate husk who'd somehow gotten behind him. The sheer momentum of his throw sent the weapon sailing through the creature's visage in a deadly arc, tearing its head from what'd amounted to its shoulders in that spindly body. And then there was no more thought as the enemy was upon him. Sentinel had time for only one last thought, one last action before the crush of bodies consumed him.

"I am Sentinel."he murmurred softly. "The watcher in the darkness." It was an old saying, one he'd fashioned on a whim. Now he added more to it. "Bulwark to the innocent. Defender of peace. Life. Prosperity."

Flicking his fingers, he transformed his right hand into a deadly blade. No mere weapon but an extension of himself-the weapon was just as much a part of him as he was it. Perhaps this body remembered from whence it had come but his current conciousness could no longer recall. It was a thing of beauty, something near and dear to his host, dormant for so very long now. Harder than any steel forged in this age-it was supposedly a zanbato, if he recalled, wielded by a demon of mist, by a man on a bridge. His host had taken up the blade in his honor shortly before their union. Now it would be wielded once again-stronger than ever before-powerful and mighty and unstoppable.

Nostalgia welled up in him at this thought, not his own, but that of his host. Naruto.

"And its been a godamned long time," he hissed angrily, "Since I've used a sword." Not his voice. Not his words. The boy's. Strange...he'd thought him long gone. Dormant. Deceased. To find that he was not, proved oddly...gladdening. A small spile spread across Sentinel's face. And so, for the first time in centuries, he dared something he daren't have done in an age. He stood there and let the bloodlust of his host take him. His vision blurred for all of a blink of the eye, his shoulders straightne

When the first rachni reached him, cannons roaring, he burst into action.

SNAP.

A brutal twist of his wrist sent the mutated creature flailing away from him a bloodied heap, its sacs spewing tiny spiders to shred at his shields. He swept past them, leaping forward into the horde, sword swinging. The steel sang a song of blood and battle, scattering the creatures with a single blow, splitting the soil itself. Marauders raised their weapons and opened fire-he nimbly deflected each shot with the massive weapon wielding it like water, each movement liquid and fluid.

CRACK!

His sword dropped like a guillotine, carving heads and splitting limbs, sending bifurcated bodies flopping away from the fight. But for each he struck down more crowed in; cannons blazing, claws grasping, teeth tearing at him until his sword arm was svered away from his grasp, sent skittering away. They were pressing in around him now, thousands of them-each seeking to end him in their own right. A husk tackled him by the ankles and started gnawing at his heel. A marauder blew a hole into his chest with its rifle before a glance sent it shattering into a thousand pieces. Ravagers clawed at him, their bulbous sacks tearing open to spatter him with great gouts of acid, trying to force him to the ground. Sentinel snarled and swung, his remaining arm pinwheeling in a devastating arc of energy, driving his enemies back, buying him a precious moment of respite. This battle was swiftly ending; his scanners only just now declaring Shepard and the others departure from the cavern. Finally.

Thus freed, he stomped down at the creature gnawing on his ankle, driving his boot into his skull.

BLAM!

Another jerk of his heel ensured that said corpse would move no more. They were all around him now, human husks mauling him from behind, beating him, bludgeoning him even as their comrades opened fire.

WHAM!

His head jerked backwards in a headbutt, stunning one, his mouth opening wide.

Naruto tore its flesh off with his teeth and laughed. What and end! But if he were to die here...then so would they! His arm shifted into a cannon, the muzzle protruding from the pile of reaperfied creatures-and fired up with a deafening thrum, momentarily deafening him. He watched the scarlet streak slice through the cavern walls like butter, destroying foe after foe after foe, even as his body began to crumble around him. Still, he'd not relent, still he fired, sparing none with those crimson lines, firing, firing, _firing_ until he saw red and only red before his vision. Only great, unholy...

_...red._

* * *

><p>"Cortez...we're the last ones out."<p>

The words tasted hollow in her throat as she strode outside the cavern Garrus and Near in tow. The young reaper was just beginning to stir from where she'd been slung over the Turians shoulder. With the peril behind them, Shepard warily watched him lower her to the ground. She stood woodenly, her pale eyes searching, widening when she realized Sentinel was not beside her. Nowhere to be found. She looked this way and that-a familiar frenzy growing in her eyes, her mouth moving silently, seemingly unable to form the syllables.

Unbidden, the ground shook beneath them.

"No." Near whispered, her head swerving from side to side. "Oh, no no no no no-

"Copy that commander." Cortez's voice rang through her headset, deafening Isabbelle to whatever the reaper else might've said. "Shuttle is waiting."

"Thanks-

"SHEPARD!"

Isabelle could only grunt in surprise when Near tackled her from behind, driving her from her feet and into the ground, spearing her against the nearest rock with enough force to jar the very stone. "Why did you leave him behind?!" she demanded to know. "Why did you do such a thing?!...WHY DID YOU?!" Besfore she could hope to speak the young one struck down at her-the sudden force cracking the casing of her helmet, sending stars spangling before the redhead's vision. Garrus moved to her aid; a single blow from the brunette sent him sprawling. And then there was only pain.

"You! Insufferable! Primate!" Each word was accompanied by a blinding plunge into her stomach, refusing to let her breathe for more than an instant. "I hate you! Loathe you! Abhor you! He didn't deserve to die for all you buffoons, for a wretch like you!" Isabelle had no words for this, she didn't even have the strength to fight back; anymore of this, and her ribs would undoubtedly crack-

_...I'm touched, really."_

Something sideswipped Near off of her, sending her body sprawling to join Garrus's.

Both Reaper and Turian turned before her, their expressions unbelieving. Almost unwilling to look, Shepard risked a second glance back. She was immediately glad she had.

_There._

The Reaper came staggering back up out of cavern, his body a mess of blood and wires. One of his arms was missing, severed at the elbow and there was a slight lurch to his gait that suggested his regeneration hadn't quite healed his legs properly. He appeared to be holding a sword of some sort in his good hand, using it as a walk stick of sorts to support him, dragging his broken body out of the cave. He looked dead, every inch, of him, and yet, in spite of all that...

He was smiling.

"Sentinel!"

She barely caught him before he fell, his head lolling loosely with a strangled sigh.

"I believe...repairs are in order." he grunted.

A relieved giggle bubbled up from Near at the shocked amazement from Shepard...and she coughed. Her throat felt dry and strained. As if she had been screaming at the top of her voice, screaming for...nothing? Their worst fears were for naught. The reaper knew Shepard was suffering the same effect, she could feel it.

Sentinel offered everyone a weary smile.

"Miss me?"

* * *

><p>"You organics are dust in the stellar wind."<p>

Near's abrupt statement on the shuttle back to the Normandy caught everyone flatfooted. Shepard didn't

"Where the hell did that come from?" Garrus wondered.

"Its just as I said." the little reaper replied peevishly. "I see now that you are not even remotely worthy of our aid; if and when you do die, it will surely be in this cycle-

"Enough." Naruto's voice was an iron whisper, soft, but strong. "You will speak no more of this."

"But-!

Hanabi's gaze was practically scalding.

Sentinel exhaled in a long-suffering sigh, made worse by his battered visage. "Suppose that we actually succeed in the erasing of all sentient life, what do we do then? As we ourselves are synthetic-organic beings, which means that since we ourselves are more than just machines, then we ourselves are sentient beings, we can't ignore that. Furthermore, the one who created our kind, whomever they were, had to be sentient themselves to be able to hold the complexity of our designs in their mind and be able to actually create us based off those desighns. Are we to kill our own creator as well? Answer me those questions before you judge me."

Near stared at Sentinel.

"Why do you think I was labled a traitor to our kind?" Her senior challenged. "I asked Harbinger those same questions. Just as they were asked to me. And the idea of giving answers to them frightened him and he felt that those were things best left without our race wondering the answers to, so he labled me a traitor and seeks my termination since the point I was trying to make shook his sense of purpose with doubt."

"YOU were asked those same questions? By whom?" Near asked, somewhat curious despite his own ire.

Sentinel tapped the side of his head, wincing as pain shot through his bruised skull. "Naruto. My host, Naruto Uzumaki. When we first met, I was injured. He initally took me for a machine and nearly destroyed me with an attack called "Fūton: Rasenshuriken"..."

He shivered suddenly, as though rocked by a phantom pain.

"...Nearly killed me with it seeing as the technique created countless microscopic wind-blades that severely damage the body on a cellular level and sever all nerve channels in the body, leaving the target unable to move after being struck. The technique's effects were appropriately likened the to that of poison...But when he found out I was a living thing, he sought to help me. I was too injured to fight and he had no desire to murder me, so I told him of us and our kind's mission. He asked me those questions, word for word. I admit I found it...unsetteling...to think about at first. Still...they were valid in that they made sense. And while I confessed to him that I currently did not have any answers to them, we were able to become...acquainted. Possibly even allies. When his world became threatened, when he realized I was dying, he willingly allowed me to indoctrinate onto him because he wanted not only me to live, but his world as well."

Shepard's jaw was left hanging open. She'd suspected something, but this...

"So that's why you cling to that form so much! He was your mentor!" the little girl-looking Reaper shouted.

"Mentor...yes. An apt term...for the situation," Sentinel said, staring at his hand and clenching and unclenching it into a fist, "After all, I doubt I'd be as I am now without him opening my eyes to the folly of our kind as a whole. Precisely why I've changed you into your current form as well; if words and reason fail suit, one must take actions to make one's point, and I want our people to _understand_ why I changed my directives to the preservation of life. I confess I still have no answers to Naruto's questions, but thanks to him, I have had an epiphany, and with new purpose. I only ask that you consider the same."

Near stared at him. _That_ was what Harbinger had branded him a traitor for? She confessed to herself that while those questions prompted answers she didn't want to consider, she'd found Harbinger's actions revolting all the same. She tried to cling to her anger, but it slipped through her fingers like running water. She hung her head, visage eclipsed in auburn tresses, refusing to look him in the eye.

"I will...consider what you have said."

Shepard knew that was close to a 'yes' as they were going to get.

* * *

><p>"I'm reviwing your report on the rachni situation, Commander."These were the exact words of Admiral Hackett as he materialized in the vid-comm; thousands of leagues from the Normandy, but still able to convey his surprise<em>-and his disbelief-<em>via hologram. Isabelle Shepard, had opened a secure channel for this very purpose; to inform him of their newest ally in the fight against the reapers. However, she hadn't been expecting the Admiral to already know. That being said, there wasn't much Shepard could do about it other than stand at attention and hear him out.

This could've gotten complicated fast." Hackett continued. "I hope you know what you're doing, cutting a deal with the rachni queen. We got burned last time. I'm trusting your instincts here, Shepard."

"We can count on her support, Admiral." she said. "Sentinel put himself into the medbay ensuring she escaped."

"I hope so. But at the very least we cut the Reaper supply of new Rachni troops and picked up some additional krogan support. I call that a victory. Is there anything else you have to report?"

She thought back to Near and her relative discomfort amongst the crew. Sentinel had done his best to help her acclimate with ease, but even a Reaper could only push so much. Half the men feared the little girl, others were in awe of her strength, still others, quietly bemused by her almost constant bickering with the former. Traynor seemed most taken with Hanabi for some reason; as one of the few crew members the youngling had not yet harmed or maimed, she claimed they stood much to gain by learning from her. And she already knew what Vega and Javik thought of the little spitfire. It was a worrying trend, one she felt worthy of mentioning to her superior.

In the end, she decided to tell the admiral as much.

"Another one?" Hacket touched a hand to his chin in thought. "You mean to tell me we have _two_ reapers aboard the Normandy now? How did you manage to pull that off?"

"Its...a long story sir."

_Longer than you'll ever know. _Shepard slammed the lid on that train of thought and returned her attention to the hologram standing before her. For a moment, Admiral Hacket was silently standing, arms folded behind his back. He opened his mouth to say something and decided against it, his mouth snapping shut with an audible click.

"I'd be surprised if it wasn't." The admiral said at length. "Shepard, Sentinel may have given us valuable information on Reaper weaknesses as a whole, and he may claim to be an ally, but I hope for your sake you are doing more than taking him at face value here. I don't like the idea of having human proto reapers walking around on an Alliance vessel. Are you _sure _about this?" For the second time in what felt like months, but what had really only been a few weeks since Sentinel joined the crew, Shepard paused to consider the weight of his words. Did she trust Naruto/Sentinel? She still didn't have a definite answer to that. One one hand, he was an ally. He'd proven as much, time and time again, selflessly throwing himself into the fray; hell, he'd nearly lost his life for it in the last encounter.

On the other, his behavior had proven erratic at the best of times, and his refusal to let her destroy his kind was worrisome.

"I'll keep you posted, sir." Shepard promised at last.

"See that you do." The Admiral noded. "I've gotta get back to it commander, watch yourself out there. Hackett out."

* * *

><p>Sentinel hated the infirmary.<p>

Not just its white, sterile walls and overall lack of communication, but he found he disliked the doctor as well. Chakwas, was her name? The woman seemed immediately suspicious of him, her wariness outweighed only by her duty as a doctor to her patients. And then there had been Mordin. Wishing to continue his tour of the galaxy after having cured the genophage, the scientist salarin had willingly volunteered to remain aboard the Normandy in his former capacity...to the extent that Sentinel was beginning to regret saving his life.

There had been so much poking and prodding and he, in his weakened state, his regeneration and conciousness taxed to their utmost limits, had been all but powerless to stop him. The salarian was gone now...but he would doubtlessly return, as would the insufferable Chakwas woman. Sentinel was not looking forward to seeing either of them again. He'd had enough experimentation for one day, thank you very much! This was only worsened by the damage he'd suffered; he could feel his host's core concsiousness beginning to return, and had only just resigned himself to slumber...just as the sound of footfalls reached his ears.

When the door rushed open, he almost growled. His head jerked up off the table, his body rising with a weary grone of battered bones and shattered synthetics.

"For the last time salarian, I do not-

His words dropped away when he realized that this was not the Salarian doctor.

"Am I intruding, Sentinel?" Her dark eyes regarded him inocuously, her full lips pulled up in the slightest of smiles. He barely recognized her.

Sentinel laid eyes upon EDI and made a small sound that she equated to genuine surprise. He had to admit, the, sentiment was warranted. Pleasantly so. Shepard had encouraged EDI to wear clothes but this...

The AI had, in the last few hours since they'd disbembarked, replicated the skin-like prosthetic that Dr. Eva had worn over her metal frame. Now she looked almost human, having chosen to wear a small black number, a dress that clung to all her not in-considerable curves, complete with matching heels. Speaking of which, that dress of hers looked oddly familiar to him, he'd seen Shepard wear it once before...aha! That was it, then! That was her dress! He had files on Shepard, and those files tole him this was the very same one she'd worn to infiltrate Donovan Hock's mansion. But why the devil was EDI wearing it?

"What is this?" Sentinel felt himself visibly baffled, even perhaps...smitten? Impossible!

"Shepard had suggested I attempt to wear human attire in the attempt to facilitate normality." she replied blithely, taking a seat on the table beside him, her head cocked slightly aside. "Do you approve?"

Had he the strength, the Reaper would've facepalmed. Shepard...he should've known. This stank of something she would do.

"It is...intriguing." he admitted at last. "But I rather liked you without the skin-

Scarce had he spoken than her tan complexion faded, replaced by the cool grey of her prosthetic body once more.

"Better," his reply felt only slightly forced, "But now you've removed the point of your dress."

EDI hazarded a glance down at herself, confused.

"I confess-I do not understand the organic attachement to clothes." was her admittance. "Indeed why do humans and other sentients seek to draw attention to their bodies?" Sentinel couldn't contain himself any longer at that, then; laughter bubbled out of him, soft and almost silent within its mirth, but laughter nonetheless. EDI had always fascinated him from the moment he'd laid eyes upon her, but her naivete stirred something in him, something he'd thought long since lost.

Perhaps it was his organic half empathizing with EDI's confusion. Perhaps it was because she intrigued him. Perhaps this even had something to do with his own innane loneliness. Whatever the case was, Sentinel found himself shaking his head and reaching for her hand, his warm fingers closing around her own cold digits. EDI blinked at him, but made no move to refute the gesture. She simply sat there, gazing at him quietly. And he began to speak.

"It is not that they seek to draw attention to themselves, but rather, others. A human wears such clothes to attract a mate." Sentinel found himself speaking objectively, but his words didnt have the intended effect, he had meant to produce all the same.

"I see." EDI seemed to hang on his every word, soaking up the information like a sponge. "Then, by that comparison, in this attire, do you find me...attractive?"

Sentinel nearly fell off the table! It was only through a last instant intervention that he was able to right himself in time.

"Why would you ask me such a thing?"

"I admit, I am curious." her gaze never left his, not even for an instant.

"You are not...unnattractive." Sentinel found his resolve beginning to waver here; what was she trying to get out of him?

"Then i have another question." EDI asked, scooting closer to him. "Do you believe we, as synthetics, have a place when we die?"

"I do." This time it was Naruto who admitted such a thing. "Just as I believe that anyone, synthetic or organic, has a right to feel."

EDI was silent for a long moment, the orange visor around her eyes darkening to the point of opaquicity.

"That is...illogical." she replied.

Sentinel chortled softly, because for a moment-just an moment-EDI had almost sounded human.

"Logic has nothing to do with emotion, EDI. If it did, I wouldn't be here_-mmmph."_

His words ended as she leaned forward, her mouth touching his in sudden intimacy. Their kiss was cool yet gentle, her metal lips caging his upper lip between them. The proto-reaper made a small sound of surprise, his eyes widening in incomprehension.

"Ah. The human expression of affection." Sentinel noted, touching a hand to his lips. "That was...unexpected."

"I am...baffled by it myself." EDI admitted, averting her eyes. "My body moved on its own. Is there such a gesture for your kind?"

"My kind share information." Sentinenl supplied.

"How so?"

"Allow me to show you." Ignoring the stab of agony in his mind, he touched his forehead to hers. A world of stars seemed to stretch out between the two of them, memories and images from an age long since past, all but forgotten in the anals of history. Memories of man and reaper, of how two became one-two separate entities residing in one body. EDI saw it all. His hopes, fears, dreams, desires, all that drove him and all that did despise him, everything he was and everything he would be...and just how little time he had left. The realization

When Sentinel pulled away, he was surprised to find his eyes damp. Tears?

"You won't exist for much longer, will you?" Although EDI was not physically capable of tears, there could be no mistaking the sorrow in her eyes.

Sentinel smiled sadly.

"No." he admitted. "I will not."

They sat that way for what felt like an eternity.

* * *

><p><em>(Later)<em>

"I'm afraid I may have to kill you one of these days, Commander."

Shepard knew at once that EDI had visited Sentinel; the minute she set foot in the infirmary to answer his summons, the reaper pinnioned her with the full force of his glare. And yet he seemed oddly pleased. Relaxed even-although that might've been a stretch of the word, barring his injuries.

"So...how did it go?"

"As well as one would expect." subconciously, the blonde touched a hand to his lips. "She fascinates me, you know."

Isabelle arched an eyebrow at that. "Does she now?"

"Indeed." the reaper continued to regard her for what felt like an eternity. Finally, he sighed. "I am baffled by her interest in me, but I admit...it is reciprocated." Ah, so she'd been right all along. _Sentinel and EDI have a fondness for one another,_ she thought to herself, just as she thought something else.

"Joker isn't going to like that...

"Then as your Prothean is apt to say, 'throw him out the airlock' commander." Sentinel's deadpann was barely concealed. He was quite serious about this...

"I'm afraid that's not an option." Isabelle sighed, silently wondering whether she'd just started another war. "Still, you wanted to see me?"

"Indeed."

"Well...?"

"I must make repairs." the reaper indicated the still-sparking section of his head. "My concsiousness was...damaged during our last battle. During that time of my dormancy...it is highly likely that the concsiousness of this host body may reemerge, for a time. I would ask, that you not harm him...too much." His eyes drifted shut ever so slowly; when next they re-opened, they regarded the world around them with something akin to annoyance and amusement, nothing of the cold indifference the Reaper had shown the world before.

"Well, well, well." he mused, his voice an octave lighter than Shepard remembere. "Old wire-head finally let me out for a bit of fresh air. How incredibly _kind_ of him." The hybrid whipped his head back and forth with all but a twitch of the neck, his eyes more like afternoon skies than the winter ice for which they were so well known. Before Shepard could speak, he moved. With a grunt the hybrid took himself off the table, the wounds in his head rippling shut as if they had never been. He found his footing in almost an instant and immediately began to stretch, clenching both hands into fists.

"Sentinel?"

"Nope?" the blond grinned. "The name's Naruto. And you must be Shepard. Huh." his smile grew another inch. "Say, ya wanna hear a joke?"

Shepard nodded, albeit warily. "Shoot."

"A human opens an all you can eat buffet on the citadel." the blonde began merrily. "The first costumer is an elcor who eats all the vegetables. The second is a Krogan who eats all the meat. The human is just about to close up when a Vorcha forces his way in. The human says "sorry we're out of food." The Vorcha says "I eat sneeze guard." So? Whaddya think, Shep?"

There was a silence.

"Naruto, right?"

"Yup."

She was only just able to keep the smile from her face.

"I think you and I are going to get along just fine."

* * *

><p><em>(Several hours later, in the Normandy's cockpit)<em>

Joker Moreau considered himself, above all else an optimisitic man.

He did not panic under pressure, did not bow to adversity, and he _certainly_ didn't flinch when faced with adversaries such as the Geth, Collectors, rogue Reapers, or in this case...

...Cerberus.

He'd been trying to contact the Citadel for the past fives minutes, but to no avail. That struck him as odd. They were in the system, he could clearly _see _the space station looming before them, completely intanct and all but utterly whole...and yet no one was picking up the damn mike!

"Alliance control this is SSV Normady, are we cleared to descend?" No response. The pilot shook his head and tried for a third and hopefully final time. "Alliance control" he began again, "this is Normandy. We're headed to bay 1-4, Zakera Ward. Are we cleared to descend?"

Silence reigned supreme.

"What the hell's going on down there?" Joker murmurred to himself. "Even if there were a station malfunction they'd have backups online, or something. I've got a bad feeling about this. Checking emergency channels." He received an answer from Thane of all people, and what he heard on the other caused him to serious reconsider being an eternal optimist. But instead of panicking, he kept quiet, blanched a bit, and calmly and open a comms that would be able to connect him to the crew decks. Or more importantly...Liara's cabin.

"Erm...Shepard?"

A low growl answered him.

"This had better be important, Joker."

No kidding!

"Look, I know you and Liara might be "busy" right about now, but I think we have a situation on our hands."

"There'd better be Reapers at our door for you to interrupt-

"How about Cerberus attacking the Citadel?"

There came an angry hissed, accompanied by the rustle of tangled sheets, punctuated by a small yelp from a certain Asari as Shepard slipped away from her lover and out of bed. Given the situation one word summed it up rather nicely.

_"Fuck!_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Ohhhh, I so enjoyed writing this chapter. A bit of chaos, sorrow, smexiness, and of course, hilarity! If you think this is insane, just wait until we get to the shore leave on the Citadel! We get to see Naruto go absolutely crazy next chapter! Oh, fun times will be had...but not for Cerberus!**

**Now remember, Shepard and co. WILL triumph...it just won't be on a field of rainbows and daisies. There will be loses. But there was some happiness and confusion there to soften the blow at the end. Also, I finally managed to get my hands on Citadel DLC got some major ideas from that. I have plans to incorporate the other two major DLC as well, Omega and Leviathan. It'll be interesting, to say the least! I also think I'd might include EDI in this pairing, after all...**

**Additionally, after some thought on the possible preview I presented yall with last chappy, I've come to a decision; Hinata won't show up in this fic as a reaper. It seems kind of biased to me that another synthetic assume the form of a Hyuuga, when we already have Near. Cerberus invasion of the citadel begins next! Will Thane live or will he die?**

**Don't worry, it'll be a surprise!**

**This story is going to be a tale unlike any other, as I'm sure you've guessed by now. Thank you again for all of your support! This story wouldn't be what it was without all of your wonderful reviews! Alright, now that I have five minutes left, I've got to get to work once more, so in the immortal words of Atlas...**

**...Review, would you kindly? And enjoy the previewto come! (Consider it proof that I haven't yet abandoned this story =D)**

**(PREVIEW/ and a funny little extra at the end)**

_**"LENG!"**_

_Leng never saw the atack coming. One moment he stood over Thane, drawing the blade from his flesh. The next, a blur of black and blur ripped him from his feet and hurtled him into the wall. Kai Leng flew. Literally. His feet left the floor and his body the earth and then he was airborne. A muffled grunt left his lips as his head kissed the back of an equally hard wall._

_Shepard heard the sound of flesh meeting metal and she swore._

_"You...INSECT!"_

_She'd less than an instant to comprehend Sentinel's statement before she saw something that was simultaneously incredible and terrifying. Near the back of the security office where she had first left Thane, Kai Leng was hurtling across the room. He flew twenty feet through the air before slamming down on one of the tables. The force of the landing launched lunch trays into the air and snapped the table's legs, sending it crashing to the floor. The Salarian Council crouching behind the table screamed in surprise, and then the stunned hush fell over the room as everyone looked to see who was responsible._

_Isabelle was as shocked as any of them to see Naruto standing in the back of the room, his fist raised to the sky and his face twisted in a mask rage and fury. And then to her horror, she realized the reaper wasn't done._

_"Stand!" The reaper roared. "Stand and face me, coward!"_

_"What the hell are you?" The cerberus assassin spat a bloody glob from where he lay, not even deigning to raise his head. "No...human...should be able to hit like that."_

_Naruto grinned; it was a terrifying tear of white across his otherwise tan face._

_**"Whoever said I was human?"**_

_The table in front of him flipped over, the empty chairs surrounding it cartwheeling away like they had been kicked by an invisible giant. Kicked toward Kai Leng, by a geyser of superheated pressure. Strangely enough, her first concern was not for the reaper, but for the assasin. The fool! He'd no idea what he'd just wrought! Provoking one of the most powerful synthetics in the galaxy! Naruto would surely...surely..._

_...raise a hand?_

_The blade never met its mark._

_Sentinel blinked, staring at the blade as it protruded from his flesh. There was no blood. It was as if it simply phased through him._

_"I have a message for the one you call Illusive Man; the being formerly known as Jack Harper." His fingers tightened around Leng's throat, levering the Cerberus assassin into the floor. "We are not to be trifled with!"_

_Shepard blanched._

_"Remind me to schedule some shore leave when this is over..._

* * *

><p><strong><em>(Extra)<em>**

_"What do you think of the endings, Mordin?" Sentinel asked._

_The Salarian scientest regarded the reaper objectively for a long moment. That was what Sentinel had come here for. Abruptly, the scientist spoke._

_"Control not very good, goes against what we fought for in the first place. Destroy also not good, synthesis best choice, yes. Synthetics and organics united. Destroy ending terribly faulted-return in fifty thousand years, another war... problematic."_

_"Agreed."_

_**Hope you enjoyed! R&R! =D**_


	10. DiScOrD

**A/N: Alright ladies and gentlmen, good news and bad news. Good news first. I'm fresh out of ANOTHER surgery-hurts like hell. Bad news. Things aren't looking well for me. My health has been in decline as of late, my girlfriend's all but left me because of it, and I'm still jobless. And to top it all off, I've just been informed that my grandmother's in the hospital, and she might die. Ain't that just peachy?! *Takes a deep breath* Alright then, enough of the rant, ya'll are here for the story, not the rambling of a man potentially on his deathbed.**

**Anywho,I managed to put this up here at points between the forced anesthetic. Bad news is I still have more surgeries ahead. Still, I'm feeling a bit better now. Really. ****I'm hanging tough though, despite everything life is throwing at me. Despite all that's happening, I don't intend to die quietly in a bed somewhere! And on that note I should give you fair warning, some changes have been made here to keep things interesting, folks. So with that, onto the next long awaited chapter of...**

**...Sentinel! Its a nice looong chapter, just like last time! **

_"Harmony and discord are but one and the same; two sides of the the coin, forever in opposition..._

_~?_

**DiScOrD**

Shepard soon realized there was a key difference between the combined psyches of Naruto and Sentinel. Whereas Sentinel preferred to obliterate the enemy through sheer firepower, wading through enemy positions in a masterful parody of a human tank-Naruto reveled in combat.

_Specifically close combat._

More than once she caught sight of the blond in the ensuing firefight-his deadly knives carving through the thick armor of Centurion's and soldiers as though they were mere drapes. Others simply lose their minds gibbering madly as they opened fire on their fellows. It took Shepard less than an instant to realize Naruto was adversely affecting the reaper tech planted embedded in their skulls, his sphere of influence causing them to turn on one another, without any other say in the manner whatsoever.

It was...disturbing, to say the least.

"By the Goddess!" Liara seemed to share her opinion; the asari shuddered in cover beside her as entire squads turned on one another and began to butcher their comrades without so much as a second thought. Naruto flitted amongst them; those strong enough to resist the suicidal urges soon found their lives cut short, dispatched at the end of his devastating daggers. She didn't have to ask to know how the rest of her squad felt, all but Near seemed disgusted by the blonde's brutality.

"Crazy bastard," Garrus muttered, popping out of cover just long enough to snap off a shot.

James was a touch less reserved in his opinion. "Hey Lola, he's still on our side, right?"

"You wouldn't be here if he weren't." a new voice quipped.

Isabelle balked at the little reaper known as Near materialized at her back. Her "skin" had been bruised in several places from gunfire, another indication of her inhumanity; those rapidly-healing bruises, would've been full blown _holes_ on even the largest of krogan. The young hybrid holstered her powerful rifle with a malevolent grin, pale eyes regarding the single-handed slaughter with a delirious delight that the organics found to be both disturbing and amusing in equal measure.

_"Dios,"_ James muttered under his breath. "Do you have to keep doing that, kid?"

**"Kid?"**

Hanabi looked as though were about to beat his brains in for that remark and she might well have were it not for Shepard's scathing glare.

"You know how to use that thing?" her gaze fell upon the massive weapon the girl had somehow procurred during the chaos. It wasn't just any rifle the commander realiazed, Near, had somehow gotten her hands on a Widow. But not just any ordinary Widow was that little rifle, that beauty was a _Black! _It could punch hole through armor like a krogan!

"Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

"Can you use it or not?"

"...yes."

"Good. Then go back up your brother over there."

Her pale face purpled with anger and disgust. "He is _not _my-

"Less talky, more shooty missy!"

_"Geh!"_

Near cracked her neck, scowling, but did as she was asked-vanishing with another pop. A hearbeat later and two more Cerberus went to the void; ushered onward by the gaping holes in their heads courtesy of one very deadly Black Widow rifle. Even a reaper had to admit that the weapon possessed unquantified destructive capabilities when faced with flesh. Naruto's bemused laugh boomed out over the sounds of their dying screams. he held no delusions about the deadliness of that particular rifle either.

"Thatta girl!" he nearly ate those words when Near fired at him!

"Silence, you buffoon!"

Naruto merely laughed and danced away, dealing death

The more Shepard thought about it, the more apparent it became. Naruto. Sentinel. The only difference between them was their attitude, an outlook on life. One sarcastic and cynical, the other simple and singleminded in his duty nay, its very purpose. Both gloried in gore and craved combat-their only redeeming qualities being their desire to see an end to the Cycle...

"Close combat!" A salarian's voice jerked her out of the daze, its tones piquing in distress. "Problematic!

"On it!"

The sharp crack of Garrus' sniper rifle put an abrupt end to a soldier's short-lived biotic charge_-and his head-_before he could reach Mordin's position. Even so, the display gave Isabelle pause. Didn't change the fact that the man had clearly displayed biotics just now. When the hell did Cerberus start using them? In all her encounteres with the pro-human organization they had always employed unusual tech and overwhelming numbers. But never biotics. So why now? Hadn't they cleared out Grissom Academy, rescued Jack and her students, to prevent such a happenstance? Something wasn't right here.

First the attack on the Citadel. Now this? What was going on here?

"Naruto, get in cover!"

The blond simply cackled and vaulted toward where Bailey lay. That was where the fighting was the thinnest and the soldiers seemed to realize it; converging on the wounded C-Sec officer in a desperate attempt to end him before the brutalizing blond reached their position. A flash of kunai, followed by a spurt of blood, and they were no more. Oddly enough, some of the soldiers seemed to drop before Naruto even reached them, their dark helmets lolling dangerously aside as though struck from behind.

"Alright, that's impressive." Garrus growled. "How the hell did he do _that?"_

"Cover inadvisable." Mordin returned with a gleam in his eyes, slapping another clip into the battered submachine gun he wielded. "Likely to limit effectiveness."

"Yeah, I know that," the turain grumbled, "But

"Not Naruto." a small smile twitched at the aging alien's lips.

"Wait, if that wasn't him, then who-

"I missed one!" someone sulked, their voice emerging from nothinginess. "Jeez, that's what I get for sneaking around in a warzone...

Another small pop signalled the disolution of a cloaking field, revealing a familiar black-clad body to all. Shepard couldn't quite keep the smile from her face. She hadn't heard that voice in such a long time now; yet she recognized it almost immediately. The dark suit, those dancing eyes, lilting voice...

_"Kasumi?" _

The smaller woman grinned

"You always do find trouble, Shep." she singsonged merrily. "Or it finds you. Not sure which. By the way," she continued in flawless Japaense, her gaze sliding to Naruto, "That was some nice work back there. I'd shake your hand but I wouldn't want to get blood on my dress."

"Osu!" Naruto snapped off a cheery salute, earning the slightest of smiles from his fellow Japanese. "Uzumaki Naruto, at your service!"

"So you're recruiting Reapers now, Shep?"

"Hey! _I'm_ not a reaper." the blond put out, perturbed. "Well, my body might be, but still! Blame old wire-head for that. He," Abruptly the blonde's visage furrowed in concentration, blue eyes narrowing. "What? Already? You've repaired yourself and want me to go back? No! Actually, scratch that. _Hell no!_ I haven't had this much fun in centuries! There's no way I'm letting you stuff me back into that hole without a-

**"Foolish."**

Sentinel sighed a moment later, those bright blue eyes subsumed by that eerie glow once more. "Forgive me, Commander. I allowed him a moment's respite, and this is the thanks I receive in return? It appears that he doesn't intend to make this easy, though our fate is-

"Still here, ya bucket of bolts!" a light, almost airy tone issuing forth from the proto reaper's mouth confirmed that Naruto hadn't gone quietly back into the black. "And I thought I already told you, we won't die! Not 'till we see this through, ya know?! So quit yer bitchin' and lets get on with this, Shepard!"

There was a silence.

And then.

And _then..._

"Wait...what?" Liara frowned. She knew now wasn't the best time, but it was beginning to sound like Sentinel wasn't the only one inhabiting that body. Indeed if that other voice could at all be judge, one might even try to suggest he had another personality within...or was there actually another mind, trapped in that eerie shell? Naruto, was it? Goddess, this things he must've seen, the secrets he must know...

"Wait...so are you Naruto now or Sentinel?"

_"Naruto_/**Sentinel!"** Both answered the asari simultaneously, their voices overlapping in angry unison.

Near groaned, palming her face in a rare expression of human disbelief. "Creators have mercy on me...

"Carumba." James swore softly. "One was bad enough, but this?"

Garrus scoffed his agreement. "Next thing you'll tell me he's going to split in two or something."

"Fascinating." Mordin alone seemed to take this new development in stride, the

"He does not wish to return, Shepard." Sentinel somehow sounded affronted; if the pursing of his lips were any indication.

"And who the hell would?! Naruto snapped back. "I like it out here!"

"Let him stay, then." Isabelle waved him off, her attention focused instead on the still-prone Bailey. "Split-personality disorder is the least of my concerns. Just play nice, you two."

* * *

><p>In hindsight, play nice didn't mean much a reaper. Or a shinobi. Playing nice, as she had so blatantly put it...<p>

_...meant toying with your prey._

**"LENG!"**

Kai Leng, the most-skilled assasin Cereberus had ever wielded, didn't stand a chance.

In the end, he never saw the atack coming. One moment he stood over Thane, drawing the blade from his flesh. The next, a blur of black and blur ripped him from his feet and hurtled him into the wall. Kai Leng flew. Literally. His feet left the floor and his body the earth and then he was airborne. A muffled grunt left his lips as his head kissed the back of an equally hard wall. Where in the world had that come from? He hadn't even seen an enemy in his peripheals; one moment he'd been standing, squaring off against Shepard even as the Drell's blood coated his blae.

The next he wasn't. Was this some s

"So what. Doesn't matter." He said boldly, psyching himself up. "I can take this, I can handle anything these ba-YAH!"

"Human." A bleak voice rumbled. "Your time has come."

Leng yelped in surprise as his vision was suddenly filled by a wall of red, black, and death. Simultaneously, Shepard heard the sound of flesh meeting metal and she swore.

**"Perish."**

She'd less than an instant to comprehend Sentinel's statement before she saw something that was simultaneously incredible and terrifying. Near the back of the security office where she had first left Thane, Kai Leng was hurtling across the room. He flew twenty feet through the air before slamming down on one of the tables. The force of the landing launched lunch trays into the air and snapped the fixture's legs-shattering it into a thousand shards, sending its ruined husk crashing to the floor. The Salarian Councilor crouching behind the table screamed in surprise, and then the stunned hush fell over the room as everyone looked to see who was responsible.

Isabelle was as shocked as any of them to see the hybrid standing in the back of the room, his fist still raised to the skyi in silent offering, his face twisted in a mask rage and fury. And then to her horrors, she realized the reaper wasn't done.

"Get your ass up!" The blond roared, Naruto's voice superceding once more. "Stand and face me, coward!"

"What the hell are you?" The cerberus assassin spat a bloody glob from where he lay, not even deigning to raise his head. "No...human...should be able to hit like that."

Naruto grinned; it was a terrifying tear of white across his otherwise tan face.

"Whoever said I was human?"

The table in front of him flipped over, the empty chairs surrounding it cartwheeling away like they had been kicked by an invisible giant. Kicked toward Kai Leng, by a geyser of superheated pressure. Strangely enough, her first concern was not for the reaper, but for the assasin. The fool! He'd no idea what he'd just wrought! Provoking one of the most powerful synthetics in the galaxy! Naruto would surely...surely...

...raise a hand?

The blade never met its mark.

Sentinel blinked, staring at the blade as it protruded from his flesh. There was no blood. It was as if it simply phased through him.

"I have a message for the one you call...Illusive Man; the being formerly known as Jack Harper, the one watching this battle through your tainted eyes." His fingers tightened around Leng's throat, levering the Cerberus assassin ruthlessly into the floor. "We are not to be trifled with. We are not to be opposed. We are to be feared." Leng didn't even have time to answer; because the blond reached down, took his head in those hands in an instant, and pulled.

_Hard._

Despite all she'd seen and done in her storied career Commander Shepard actually blanched, only **barely** managing to stifle her gorge as blood spattered the walls, gore spurting in every direction. The untimely end of Kai Leng would be known only to a select few, one of those few cringing now as the man's severed head skittered across the floor to rest at her boot. Sentinel didn't even pause to survey his horrific handiwork; instead making haste for the nearest skycar, his compatriot, Near in tow.

"What?" his voice-Narutos voice-warbled out at her questing glance. "Someone has to put a bullet in Udina's skull. Might as well be us."

"You just tore off a man's head, and that's all you have to say?"

"That's it." Sentinel's deep voice interposed itself, cutting off whatever his host might've said.

Isabelle sighed as she and Liara wedged themselves into the cramped confines of the vessel. Garrus and the others remained, moreso that Mordin could see to Thane than the fact that there just wasn't enough room to fit the entire squad inside. She'd have to speak about the blonde's brutality sometime soon, but not here. Not now. Not when there was still so much work to be done.

"Remind me to schedule some shore leave when this is over...

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Naruto/Sentinel is back with a vengeance! I'm sad about Thane, but Naruto simply can't save everyone. He's not a god, and though he may posses all the technological prowess of a Reaper; with its consciousness to boot, he simply isn't flawless. But with Leng dead, one might expect this war to come to an end soon...right? WRONG! There's still a great deal of chaos lurking ahead for the next few chapters, and remember...expect the unexpected! We're getting the gang back together here! Mordin's already aboard, having survived Tuchanka, and now we've got Kasumi...that'll be good for a laugh, considering her impishness and Naruto's love of pranking. WE GET TO SEE THE CITADEL DLC NEXTY CHAPPY! Stay tuned for more!**

**So...in the immortal words Atlas...**

**...Review, Would You Kindly? And of course enjoy this little preview!**

**(Preview)**

_Shepard made a face._

_Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani, -wow what a mouthful!- stood there outside the waiting room, and from the look on her face, it was clear she intended to make a mess out of things, to get the full story. Humanity-hell, the entire galactic community was still coming to terms with what had happened-an attack on the council and the betrayal of humanity's councilor, let alone the fact that they had a reaper to thank for saving their collective asses. Shepard might've found it funny if, she hadn't come so close to shooting Williams only hours before. Godamn Udina. At least he was gone now, with a hole in the head courtesy of her Phalanx._

_God, perhaps she would take Anderson up on his offer and look at that apartment of his... _

_"Commander!"_

_And, now she had to deal with this woman! Beside her, the whooshing of a door signalled Naruto's exit from what had once been -and would now no longer be- Thane's room. His eyes were still red, whether from anger at his own powerlessness or tears at Thane's passing she knew not. Regardless, he looked to be even angrier tha she was._

_"Humanity needs to know-_

_Naruto said nothing, instead brushing past her to confront Khalisah. Thinking she'd just gotten the interview of the century, the woman never noticed the tightening of the reaper's fist. Then in a very Naruto-like move, the blond walked right up to the tabloid reporter and socked her in the face. She crumpled like a sack of potatoes. _

_"Dissengenuous assertions?" he offered a wan smile._

_Shepard couldn't help but grin._

_"Dissengenuous assertions."_

_**R&R! =D**_


End file.
